"Here goes nothing"

Question

0Needless to say, I'm learning English as a 2nd language. One of my difficulties concerns "expressions", I find that I really have to learn all aspects of the expression before I feel confident to use it, such as its origin, the corelation among each key words and of course the exact meaning of each word. But some expressions strike me as too "obstract" to understand.02br02br00I don't have the context for "Here goes nothing", could somebody tell me exactly what it means and when and how one should use it?02br02br00Thanks a lot02br02br00Raen0-

Avangi · Accepted Answer

0Hi Raen,02br
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00It's used when you're about to attempt something which you think might fail. You're surely going to give it your best shot. Your motives in making the remark may be various. It may be to give yourself courage, like the first time you go sky diving, as you jump out of the plane (Right, Nona?). It may be to cover your **** if you should fail (i.e.you want people to know you're trying something very difficult and they shouldn't expect too much), or it may be to make people think it's harder than it really is, so you can be a hero when you succeed.)0-

CalifJim · Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10Raen12cite10"Here goes nothing", could somebody tell me exactly what it means and when and how one should use it?12blockquote

10 It means, "I am about to attempt an action the success of which I am very doubtful"! Or, more simply, "I'm going to try, but I will probably fail".02br
00Not to be impertinent, but you use it when you are going to try to do something that you believe will not succeed, just as the meaning indicates. However, it is an informal expression, usually used among friends when the consequences of failure are not particularly serious, so you would not say this to your boss upon beginning to execute some project he has assigned you. Keep in mind that the expression connotes a good-natured self-awareness as well as an awareness of the relative difficulty (but possibly trivial nature) of the situation. It's a combination of wishing yourself good luck and trivializing the task at the same time.02br
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00Embarking upon the task of teaching a rat calculus, you might say, "Here goes nothing!" 02br
00CJ 0-

Raen · Answer

0Thanks to Avangi and CJ for your extensive explanations, my appreciation in deed.02br
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00And yes CJ, I take this advice to heart.02br
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01i01font00"so you would not say this to your boss upon beginning to execute some project he has assigned you."02font02i02br
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01font00Thanks02font02br
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01font00Raen02font02br
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01i01font02font02i0-

"Here goes nothing"

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