a leap in the dark
Preserved but no longer current.
A step the consequences of which cannot be foreseen. Thomas Hobbes is reported to have said on his death-bed, "Now am I about to take my last voyage — a great leap in the dark " Hallam considered this term to apply to the period lasting from A.D. 475 to about the middle of the 12th century; in 1868 Lord Derby applied the words to the Reform Bill.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “a leap in the dark” mean?
A step the consequences of which cannot be foreseen. Thomas Hobbes is reported to have said on his death-bed, "Now am I about to take my last voyage — a great leap in the dark " Hallam considered this term to apply to the period lasting from A.D. 475 to about the middle of the 12th century; in 1868 Lord Derby applied the words to the Reform Bill.
Is “a leap in the dark” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.