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Topic: Last-ditch

Folks interested in marking the occasion of the last day of the year have a number of choices. They might dedicate the 31st to Make Up Your Mind Day; they might wait up for tonight's Universal Hour of Peace, scheduled to begin at 11:30 p.m. and conclude at 12:30 a.m. January first.

Or, if the sands of time seem to be flowing especially quickly, they might want to make a last-ditch effort to acknowledge Last Chance or Last Minute moments on this last day of the year. Folks who’ve been saying they were going to doing something soon had better hop to it if they want to get it done before the page of the calendar turns.

In that spirit, today we look at the phrase last-ditch. Used adjectivally, the hyphenated last-ditch describes "something made in a final effort to avert disaster," or "something waged with desperation or uncompromising spirit." The adjective last-ditch literally means "fought or conducted from the last ditch;" the physical last ditch names the "place of final defense; the last resort."

Last, by the way, may simply indicate "that which has most recently occurred or been in existence;" but it is also the term of choice to designate "that which comes at the end of a series."

Questions or comments? Write us at wftw@aol.com Production and research support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of language reference books and Web sites including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.

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