Last ditch effort

Idioms | C1

Listening exercises with “Last ditch effort”

A last-ditch effort or attempt is a final attempt to achieve something when previous efforts have not been successful.

It is usually used in the structure to make a last-ditch effort to do something.

When this idiom is used, it usually communicates the feeling that the final effort is not likely to succeed. e.g. I made a last ditch effort to change his mind about dropping out of uni, but he wouldn’t listen.

By the way, the photo for this post is of a ditch. The idiom ‘last-ditch’ has military origins – ditches were used to defend castles from attacking armies. The ‘last ditch’ was your final (and probably hopeless) chance to defend yourself.

Have a go at these micro-dictation exercises to hear this expression being used in context – how much can you understand?

Accent: North America