long shot

noun

Etymology: From long + shot. The term arose from the accuracy of early naval guns, which were effective only at close range and unlikely to hit the mark at any great distance.

1. A shot fired at a distant target.

   “"It is of course a most foolish thing twice to take a long shot in a capercailzie wood, as you know," said the captain, appealing to me; "but the last time I had no choice, because I heard that villainous Andreas stalking the bird at the same time."”

2. Something unlikely; something that has little chance of happening or working; long odds.

   “We can try your plan, but it's a long shot and it probably won't work.”

   “A long shot, it may be, at immortality, but longer ones have hit; or Guido Fawkes, William Tell, and Samuel Pepys were forgotten now.”

3. A master shot, the primary wide shot of a scene into which the closeups will be edited later.
4. Synonym of long take; a single, continuous shot that lasts for an unusually long duration without any cuts.