last-ditch

adj. 坚持到最后的；最后防线的

中文词源

last-ditch 孤注一掷的

即最后的战壕，引申词义死战到底。后词义贬义化。比较die-hard.

last-ditch (adj.): "on the last line of defense," 1715, attributed to William of Orange; if so, originally in a Dutch context.
We have no space to enter into the detail of the heroic struggle maintained by the young stadtholder and his faithful Dutchmen; how they laid their country under water, and successfully kept the powerful invader at bay. Once the contest seemed utterly hopeless. William was advised to compromise the matter, and yield up Holland as the conquest of Louis XIV. "No," replied he; "I mean to die in the last ditch." A speech alone sufficient to render his memory immortal. [Agnes Strickland, "Lives of the Queens of England," London, 1847]

1. A fellow doesn't last long on what he has done. He's got to keep on delivering as he goes along.--Carl Hubbell, Baseball Player: 靠过去完成的无法让人保有成功，必须在路上持续交出成绩。

2. Friendship means understanding, not agreement. It means forgiveness, not forgetting.It means the memories last, even if contact is lost.: 友情是理解，不是妥协；是原谅，不是遗忘。即使不联系，感情依然在。

4. I picked first all the people who usually were left till last.: 我先挑出了所有通常留到最后的人。

5. The Liberal Democrat'ssupport fell away at the last minute.: 自由民主党的支持率在最后一刻有所下降。