Dictionary definition of “spray and pray”

spray and pray

v. phr. to indiscriminately aim and deliver (bullets, insecticide, perfume, a marketing message, golf balls, etc.). Subjects: English, Advertising, Agriculture, Apparel, Appearance, & Fashion, Marketing, Military

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Citations: 1929 Hayward Daily Review (California) (Aug. 6) “Poison Sprays For Pests Must Pass Inspection” (in Sacramento, California) p. 4: The old system of spray and pray that the solution purchased would work is definitely headed for the discard. 1936 Troy Thompson Cullman Democrat (Alabama) (Mar. 5) “Spraying Strawberries” p. 4: In church and at home let us pray. In our berry fields let us spray and pray. 1942 Rex Hess Mansfield News-Journal (Ohio) (June 2) “Sport Podge” p. 8: Spray and pray from tee to green, and then pray, brother, pray. 1947 Blaine Davis Portland Press Herald (Maine) (Dec. 26) “Maine-ly Sports” p. 7: The match is to be played at Old Orchard Beach Country Club, where wide parallel fairways are calculated to keep Dick’s “spray and pray” shots out of serious trouble. 1988 David Knorr Grand Rapids Business Journal (Michigan) (Feb. 29) “Radio Spot Snags Addy Best of Show” vol. 6, no. 9, p. 3: It’s a strategic buy.…We have not tried to spray and pray. Because we don’t have a large budget, we put our money in the one place where we know we’ll have a large audience. 1988 Barnaby J. Feder New York Times (Aug. 3) “Advances in Drugs, Courtesy of Computers”: Drug companies are not ready to abandon the “spray and pray” random sampling of compounds to find potential new drugs, but excitement is growing about using computers to design tomorrow’s pharmaceuticals in a more rational way. 1989 Walter H. Crockett Jr. Sunday Telegram (Worcester, Massachusetts) (Mar. 19) “Assault rifles hot item in face of ban” p. A2: A clerk at the Outdoorsman, Route 12, in West Boylston, said the gun has an effective range of only about 40 yards. “It’s basically spray and pray that you hit something,” he said. “I see no use for them really.” 1996 Usenet: rec.sport.paintball (Sept. 3) “Re: Spray and pray vs Manuever and shoot”: Why no respect for people who shoot a lot of paint?…Spray and pray is one of those terms which has a very bad connotation (in most circles) and doesn’t do the tactic justice. It should be—“use the right amount of paint for the job.” 2004 Geraldine Bedell Observer (United Kingdom) (Dec. 19) “Scents and suitability”: The lavish promotional brochure promises “the Haute Parfumerie defies the contemporary notion of “spray and pray” to bring together the finest fragrance offerings within sumptuous, lavish surroundings. Roja’s personally trained experts will be on hand to help each customer find their signature fragrance. *2005 [ally465 ] BellaOnline Forums (Dec. 8) “Re: Digital vs. FIlm!”: You want to be able to make a great photo from the moment you flip the shutter, you shouldn’t have to rely on “spray and pray” photography. Try to get an excellent shot of your subject in less shots and your photography will improve, be it digital or film. 2006 Lynn Gilmour Scotsman (Edinburgh, Scotland) (Oct. 19) “There’s no common scents in perfumier’s city outlet”: For Dove, who worked with Guerlain for 19 years, fragrance should be about “hedonism, indulgence, utter luxuriousness.” He has little time for what he dubs the beauty hall “spray and pray girls,” who he feels have taken the magic from the business.

Posted 20 Oct 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend