'wing and a prayer': phrase origin of the day

During World War One airplanes were still a novelty and untested in war. A "wing and a prayer" was first uttered when an American flyer came in with a badly damaged wing.

His fellow pilots and mechanics were amazed he didn't crash. He should have. The pilot replied he was praying all the way in. Another pilot chimed in that "a wing and a prayer brought you back."

--from the Origin of Phrases website.


This is my life, really.