1
general::
Phrase(s): *last-ditch effort
Fig. a final effort; the last possible attempt. (*Typically: be ~; have ~; make ~.) • I made one last-ditch effort to get her to stay. • It was a lastditch effort. I didn’t expect it to work.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
A desperate final attempt, as in We're making a last-ditch effort to finish on time. This expression alludes to the military sense of last ditch, "the last line of defense." Its figurative use dates from the early 1800s.
American Heritage Idioms