plural Hail Marys
Definition of Hail Mary
1
: a Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary that consists of salutations and a plea for her intercession
2
or less commonly Hail Mary pass
: a long forward pass in football thrown into or near the end zone in a last-ditch attempt to score as time runs out
—often used figuratively The only potential cure is a stem-cell transplant, when you take somebody else's immune system and put it into yours. But right now that's kind of a Hail Mary pass.— Douglas Cote, quoted in Bicycling
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for Hail Mary
The first known use of Hail Mary was in the 14th century
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