rearguard action
English
Noun
rearguard action (plural rearguard actions)
- (military) An offensive action by a rearguard.
- (figuratively) A desperate attempt to forestall the inevitable.
- to fight a rearguard action
- 1991, Peter R. Newman, “New English”, in Companion to Irish History, 1603–1921, Oxford: Facts On File, →ISBN, page 132:
- The New English came to control Ireland — their ultimate expression was the powerful ascendancy which enjoyed exclusive political power in the country for more than a century, and which fought a dogged rearguard action against diminution of its power during the nineteenth century.
Translations
offensive action by a rearguard
desperate attempt to forestall the inevitable
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See also
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