Take a stab

Posted by Smokey Stover on May 09, 2005

In Reply to: Take a stab posted by Ernie on May 06, 2005

: Does anyone know the origin of the phrase "I'll take a stab at it."?

I can guess, but it would just be a guess. Anyway, "take a stab," "make a stab," and "have a stab" all mean the same thing, and have done so since no later than 1895 (OED). SS