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Reader question: Please explain this headline: “A Last-Ditch Idea to Fight Climate Change”. What does last-ditch mean here? My comments: It means, among other things, that the author (say, a scientist) of this particular “Idea” is running out of ideas (solutions). Last-ditch means simply the last. This is the final proposal, after which there’ll be no more. In other words, the world is doomed if this proposal is not taken seriously. In short, it is the final proposal the scientist has for saving the planet. After that, well, heaven knows what. It is beyond the author of this “last-ditch idea” – he’s giving up after a series of similar proposals and efforts have all come to naught. Anyways, last-ditch is the question for us to dwell on here and here we’re talking about an idiom with a military origin. “Ditch” refers to one of the trenches – long narrow open holes – soldiers dig out of the ground to shelter them from enemy gunfire. This term dates to 1905 (Dictionary.com), or prior to the First World War when trench warfare was the order of the day. And soldiers dig many of them, each lining 50 meters or more (or less according to local geography) behind the other. These ditches serve as defense lines. When one ditch is lost, soldiers retreat to the next line of defense. Last ditch? Yes, that means the last line of defense. If this is lost, there’ll be no more ditches to retreat to. In other words, you’ve got your back against the wall. Either fight (to the last man) or give up (surrender) or, if that’s too much for you, flee the field. Fight or flight, as it were. | 
