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A shot in the dark is a common idiom. It means to take a wild guess at something or attempting to guess something when you have little or no information about the subject given, which is why answering it is like taking an unsubstantial guess or ‘A shot in the dark.

I believe Mr. Munro had used this title for his story because the protagonist of this story, Philip Sletherby, also made a wild guess about a man named Bertie he met on the train. Sletherby was on his way to meet Mrs. Saltpen Jago, who was very socially dominant in the country of Chalkshire. The protagonist hoped to get an occupation in the parliament and hoped to impress Mrs. Saltpen Jago on his trip. The stranger he met claimed to be the son of Mrs. Saltpen Jago and asked Sletherby to lend him some money as he had lost his coin purse. To make sure if this was true, Sletherby asked him two questions regarding Mrs. Saltpen Jago; What color her hair was and what was the Jago crest, to both of which he had a different answer than what Sletherby had in mind, which is why he refuses to give him the money from his coin purse, it is only after the experience that he realizes that Bertie was right about being the heir to the Saltpen Jago family and that Sletherby was wrong.

In conclusion, Philip Sletherby took ‘A shot in the dark’ by miss judging Bertie without knowing the fact that Mrs. Saltpen Jago had recently changed her hair color from dark brown to blonde and the fact that the Jago family has two different crests. While confronting Bertie, Sletherby took a wild guess, and with little information deemed him to be an imposter. Due to the wild guess taken by the protagonist of this tale, the author named this tale, ‘A shot in the dark.

By Hridaan Shoundik
8 sariska
Session 2021-2022

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A shot in the dark is an idiom. It means to take wild guess when you have no information or knowledge about the subject.

I think Saki chose the title "A Shot in the Dark" because the protagonist of the story, Mr. Philip Sletherby made a shot in the dark. He made a wild guess.

Philip Sletherby was going to Brill Manor to meet Mrs. Saltpen Jago, his newly achieved acquaintance. Sletherby hoped to be a member of the parliment but for that, he had to imperss Mrs. Saltpen Jago.
On his way to Brill Manor, Philip Sletherby met a man named Bertie who claimed to be the second son of Mrs. Saltpen Jago. Bertie explained himself that he hadn't met his mother for about six months and how he left his coin purse. He requested Sletherby if he could give him 3 quids. Sletherby doesn't trust him. He was suspicious on Bertie. He asked Bertie some questions relating to his family. Bertie's answers did not match with Sletherby's answers.
That was when Philip Sletherby made a shot in the dark saying that he was not the son of Honoria Saltpen Jago.

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I think the reason Saki named this story "A shot in the dark" is because it represents the whole idea of the story.

Philip Sletherby needed the support of Mrs. Saltpen Jago to become a member of the parliament but when he rudely left Bertie on the station without lending him any money and accusing him, without carefully analysing all the facts it was like he was trying to shoot in the dark. If someone tries to shoot in the dark they could hurt someone or even worse hurt themselves and in this case Philip Sletherby hurt himself because he had not analysed all the facts and had acted rashly.

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The title "A Shot in the Dark" is an idiom. I think it means taking a wild guess when you have some or no information about the subject. Like if you shoot a arrow in the dark it may or may not land on the target.

If we look through the story's perspective Philip Sletherby wanted to become a member of parliament and Mrs Saltpen Jago was a really important women within the country of Chalksire so as per Sletherby he had full chances to be a member just that now he would also get on the good side of Saltpen Jago. When he met Bertie , he wasn't sure whether Bertie really is saltpen jago's son or not. To check if he was lying or not Sletherby acted that he never met Saltpen Jago and put Bertie on a test, Sletherby asked him - What color her hair was, to which he had a different answer than what Sletherby had in his mind. Before that his suspiciousness increased when they talked about the jago and saltpen crest. Later, Sletherby accused him of lying and did not lend him money.

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A shot in the dark is an idiom. In my opinion it means shooting an arrow in the dark, which means taking a shot without knowing the target, where you might land or what truths you may uncover.

In this case Philip sletherby accused Bertie of lying without knowing the entire story, so Philip sletherby took a wild guess, or a shot in dark as he didn’t know what he would uncover or what the outcome may be

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The author of this story is H.H.Munro, more widely referred to as Saki.

The title of this story is “A shot within the dark”. it's an idiom which suggests to form a guess with none real evidence. This whole story is predicated on taking these sorts of guesses.

Philip Sletherby wanted to become a member of parliament from the county of Chalkshire. Mrs Saltpen Jago was a really important person within the county of Chalkshire, and Philip knew he needed to get on her good side to win the nomination. He got this opportunity when he was invited to go to her house and he gleefully accepted.

On the way, he met a young man named Bertie who claimed to be Mrs Saltpen Jago’s son. Bertie asked Philip to lend him some money as he had lost his coinpurse and will not travel without money. Philip initially accepted, but his suspicions were roused after he started lecture Bertie and refused to assist him.

Here we will see that he took a wild guess, or a “shot within the dark” as he didn’t have any real evidence to suggest that Bertie wasn't Mrs Saltpen Jago’s son. Later he realised that his assumptions were wrong and he was left in shock.

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I think the use of the title ‘A Shot In The Dark’ is as an idiom.  It simply means an attempt to do something that has very little chance of being successful.

In my opinion, at the end of the story, Philip was on his way to Brill Manor, and the fact that he still thought he could get her approval after the incident with her son, is indeed a shot in the dark.

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A SHOT IN THE DARK
Justify the use of the title by Saki in his story - A SHOT IN THE DARK. Give evidences to support your point of view
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Deepa Ranganath
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Charvi Agarwal (8-R)
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Charvi Agarwal (8-R)

A shot in the dark is an idiom. It means to take wild guess when you have no information or knowledge about the subject.

I think Saki chose the title "A Shot in the Dark" because the protagonist of the story, Mr. Philip Sletherby made a shot in the dark. He made a wild guess. 

Philip Sletherby was going to Brill Manor to meet Mrs. Saltpen Jago, his newly achieved acquaintance. Sletherby hoped to be a member of the parliment but for that, he had to imperss Mrs. Saltpen Jago.
On his way to Brill Manor, Philip Sletherby met a man named Bertie who claimed to be the second son of Mrs. Saltpen Jago. Bertie explained himself that he hadn't met his mother for about six months and how he left his coin purse. He requested Sletherby if he could give him 3 quids. Sletherby doesn't trust him. He was suspicious on Bertie. He asked Bertie some questions relating to his family. Bertie's answers did not match with Sletherby's answers. 
That was when Philip Sletherby made a shot in the dark saying that he was not the son of Honoria Saltpen Jago. 
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A shot in the dark- H.H Munro (Saki)
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Hridaan Shoundik
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A shot in the dark- H.H Munro (Saki)
A

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The author of this story is H.H.Munro, more widely known as Saki.

The title of this story is “A shot in the dark”. It is an idiom which means to make a guess without any real evidence. This whole story is based on taking these kinds of guesses.

Philip Sletherby wanted to become a member of parliament from the county of Chalkshire. Mrs Saltpen Jago was a very influential person in the county of Chalkshire, and Philip knew he needed to be on her good side to win the nomination. He got this chance when he was invited to visit her country house and he gleefully accepted.

On the way, he met a young man named Bertie who claimed to be Mrs Saltpen Jago’s son. Bertie asked Philip to lend him some money as he had lost his coinpurse and could not travel without money. Philip initially accepted, but his suspicions were roused after he started talking to Bertie and refused to help him.

Here we can see that he took a wild guess, or a “shot in the dark” as he didn’t have any real evidence to suggest that Bertie was not Mrs Saltpen Jago’s son. Later he realised that his assumptions were wrong and he was left in shock

By - Aayush Anand (8-c)

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A shot in the dark is an idiom. It means to take a wild guess at something with very less information.
HH Munro (saki) used this title because of the protagonist Philip Sletherby. On the train he thought that Bertie ( Mrs. Saltpen Jago’s son) was lying that he was Saltpen Jago’s son so that he can steal money from him.
Bertie gave the description of his mom as having dark hair and fair complexion but Sletherby had not seen her before and thought that Saltpen Jago was a pronounced blonde from always.    Bertie told about a different Jago crest than what Sletherby knew. Thus he thought Bertie was a fraud.
Later he comes to know that there are two Jago crests and Mrs. Saltpen Jago used to have dark hair. He misjudged Bertie without having clear evidence. He took a shot in the dark and now he might have to bare the consequences of not giving money to Bertie.
Priyal, 8 Corbett

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I think this is a correct title because philip  didnt have enough evidnece to determine whether bertie was lying or not and he did confront bertie with a wild guess.

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A short in the dark is an idiom. It is an attempt to guess something when you have no information or knowledge about the subject and therefore cannot possibly know what the answer is. It is like taking an unsubstantial guess which means a shot in the dark. I think this type of story is idiomatic. I think HH Munro (Saki) used this because Bertie who was the club acquaintance of Mr. Philip Sletherby told him that mrs.Saltpen Jago is her mother and he hadn’t seen her for six months. So to confirm he was his actual son he first asked him his crest. Berty didn’t see his mother for years but last when he met him, she had dark brown hair but Sletherby saw Mes Saltpen Jago and knew it was blonde so he thought he was bluffing.

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is a common idiom that means to guess something which you have little to no information about.It refers to Philip Sletherby asking very open-ended question that could have man answers while its true he should have looked out for a bluff or the possibility that this unknown man Bertie claiming to be Ms Jago`s son might be an impostor he should have speculated slightly more for example when Bertie mentioned about the demi-lion family crest he should have asked foe him to show a letter or give some proof about the second family crest.He could have also asked for a photo of her with him when she had dark hair to completely confirm if this man is truly Ms Jago`s son or a thief trying to make money. He could perhaps have even asked more questions but he did not want to speculate into this matter any further and this is the mistake that put him into this situation.

AGASTYA
8 RANTAMBORE

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The title a short in the dark means an unsubstantiated guess relied on limited information.

In my opinion I think that saki chose the title “A shot in the dark” considering that the protagonist of this story Mr.Philip Sletherby took a shot in the dark by making a wild guess about a man named Bertie who claimed to be Mrs.Saltpen Jago’s son. Mrs. Saltpen Jago was women of great importance to Mr.Philip Sletherby as Sletherby wanted to become a member of the parliament in the parliament re-election and he believed that Mrs.Jago could help him in becoming so.

While Sletherby was travelling to brill manor for a meeting with Mrs. Jago he met Bertie who overheard his conversation about brill manor and claimed himself the son of Mrs. Jago by stating that he was going to meet his mother after 6 months . That was when sletherby took a shot in the dark by stating that Bertie is an imposter relying on the information about the crest which Bertie said was a Demi-lion and not a greyhound, another piece of information was that Bertie told him about Mrs.Jago’s hair which were dark brown just like his and not blonde . sletherby had only seen the greyhound crest and the blonde hair which were earlier dark brown( Bertie did not know about the blonde hair as he was returning after 6 months) and not any of the things that Bertie had mentioned. so therefore he presumed that Bertie was an imposter and refused to give the him three quids that he had asked for when he realised he had forgotten his coin purse along with the crest. In reality Bertie was indeed the son of Mrs. Salpen Jago and the guess that Sletherby took was incorrect.

Thank you,

Regards,

Gaurika Bansal 8 Ranthambore

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The use of the title of the  story must be that he would have want it to be a mysterious story.

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The use of the title of the  story must be that he would have want it to be a mysterious story.

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Abhimanyu Rana 8- Gir

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A shot in the dark is an idiom which means to make a random guess or making an attempt to do something which will probably not work out. I think Saki named this story 'A shot in the dark' because Mr. Philip Sletherby made a wild guess about a man named Bertie who claimed to be Mrs. Saltpen Jago's son. Bertie was a young man of about twenty two, with dark hair and the blend of smartness and confusion that marks the costume of a “nut”. Bertie mentioned about the Jago crest. He further added that his mother 's hair was dark brown similar to his. Mr. Philip Sletherby was suspicious and did not give him any money, as he knew Mrs. Saltpen Jago had blonde hair.

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A shot in the dark is an idiom which means to take wild guess at something you have no knowledge or information about and you have a slight chance of being correct.

H.H Munro has used this title in his story because when Philip Sletherby and Bertie met on the train, Bertie had lost his coin purse and had asked Philip for 2 or 3 pounds. Bertie also told Philip that he was Mrs. Saltpen Jago's son and had not met her for 6 months but Philip didn't believe him so he asked him for his crest. Bertie showed him a Demi-lion holding a cross-crosslet in his paw . But the one Philip had from Mrs. Jago was a greyhound. For more proof, Philip asked Bertie what his mother's hair colour was . Bertie told him that she had dark brown hair , and this is where Philip took a guess that he wasn't Mrs. Jago's son because she had blonde hair.

Later Philip got to know that Mrs. Saltpen Jago had dark brown hair but  dyed it blonde. Then he realised that Bertie was telling the truth and that his shot in the dark was incorrect.

From this Saki named the story ,
'A shot in the dark'

~Ayra Mathur
8 Corbett

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A shot in the dark is an idiom. It means to make a wild guess of something when you have no information or knowledge about the subject and cannot possibly know what the answer is. H.H Munro used this title in his story because when Bertie who was the club acquaintance of Mr. Philip Sletherby told him that mrs.Saltpen Jago is her mother and he hadn’t seen her for six months. So to confirm he was his actual son he first asked him his crest. Bertie replied, a Demi-lion holding a cross-crosslet in its paw. But Philip said that when your mother wrote me giving a list of trains, she had a greyhound on her paper. And then he asked him another question, what was your mother’s hair color. He replied it’s dark brown. But in real she has blonde hair. And then Philip Sletherby thought he was bluffing.

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A shot in the dark is an idiom that means guessing or inferring something without any information. Such guesses have very less chance of being true.

I think that the author of this story named it ‘A shot in the dark’ because of the incident on the train where mr Sletherby infers that Bertie is not genuine ignoring the fact that he had not seen his mother in six months while he did not know what she looked like six months ago

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A shot in the dark is an idiom which means making a wild guess or attempt which doesn't have much chance of being true. Saki used this idiom as the title for his story as it summarises it in just a few words.
This story talks about Philip Sletherby making a wild guess about Mrs Saltpen-Jago and Bertie`s relationship and that guess is later on proven to be wrong.
Philip Sletherby was going on a trip to Brill Manor to meet his acquaintance Mrs Saltpen-Jago. During his trip he meets Bertie who tells him that he is Mrs Saltpen-Jago`s son but hadn't met her is six months and if he could lend him some money as he hasn't brought his coin purse and only has sixpence left with him. Before lending him money he asks him a few questions The first being what his crest is which ends up being different from that of Mrs Saltpen-Jago`s. after hearing his answer he gets a bit suspicious and asks a question to clear his suspicions. He lies about not having met his mother at all and asks him about her appearance. When he replies by saying she has dark brown hair he gets pretty sure about him lying of being her son and doesn't give him money. Later on he realises he had made a false assumption when he sees two crests; the one Bertie said he signed with and the one with which Mrs Saltpen-Jago used to sign his letters. Then later when he is having a conversation with Claude about Mrs Saltpen-Jago he tells him that she intially used to have dark brown hair and about five weeks ago, changed to blonds. Seeing that Bertie hadn't seen her for 6 months, he was correct about his mother's appearance. Philip Sletherby instantly realises he was very wrong about Bertie and regrets his decision of not giving him money.

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This is a common idiom,meaning misconception.Here,Philip Sletherby,also made a wild guess about a man named Bertie who met on the train,while he was on his way to meet Mrs Saltpen Jago. She was a very socially important person in Chalkshire.He hoped to get a seat in the Parliament after meeting her.The young man he met on the train claimed to be Mrs Jagos son.Mr Philip doubted him and after Bertie told him his mother had balck hair,he reakized Bertie was lying and was an imposter.Here,this was the Shot in the Dark made by Philip and it would cost him his seat in the Parliament,if Bertie tells his mother about their meeting.If only Philip had known about the crest and Mrs Saltpens new look,this could have been avoided.So,it totally depends on Bertie if he would forgive him or not which also depends on the writer.

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This is a common idiom,meaning misconception.Here,Philip Sletherby,also made a wild guess about a man named Bertie who met on the train,while he was on his way to meet Mrs Saltpen Jago. She was a very socially important person in Chalkshire.He hoped to get a seat in the Parliament after meeting her.The young man he met on the train claimed to be Mrs Jagos son.Mr Philip doubted him and after Bertie told him his mother had balck hair,he reakized Bertie was lying and was an imposter.Here,this was the Shot in the Dark made by Philip and it would cost him his seat in the Parliament,if Bertie tells his mother about their meeting.If only Philip had known about the crest and Mrs Saltpens new look,this could have been avoided.So,it totally depends on Bertie if he would forgive him or not which also depends on the writer.

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A shot in the dark means taking a shot which has a 50 50 chance of it being successful.
In the story ‘A shot in the dark’ Philip Sletherby wants to impress and have the support of Mrs Saltpen Jago so that he can become member of the parliament. He is taking a shot to in making in the parliament as he made mistake will he was coming to Mrs Saltpen Jago’s house, he met her second son Bertie. Bertie hadn’t met his mother in six months. He had forgotten his purse and asked Philip Seltherby to lend some money. Seltherby agreed to lend some money. Seltherby got suspicious after Bertie telling him his crest a Demi- lion holding a cross- crosslet in its paw. As Seltherby thought he was lying to be Mrs Saltpen Jago’s son so he asked him how she looked. Well Bertie told she had dark brown hair and high colour. This made Seltherby’s suspicion into a surety that he was lying. He left Bertie with no money on the station. He thought he did a intelligent thing. After arriving at his station he met with an important lawyer. After sitting in vehicle which was sent to pick both of them Seltherby didn’t hear any words that the lawyer said because on the door panel of the vehicle as it has tow crest displayed : a running greyhound and a Demi - lion holding in its paws a cross - crosslet.
Philip Seltherby can only hope that the thing he di with Bertie it doesn’t effect his chance. This is a 🤬 in the dark he is taking which has a chance of 50 50 success.

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A shot in the dark is a common used idiom which means a wild, unsubstantiated guess; also, an attempt that has little chance for success.

The title for this story is “A Shot In The Dark” because the author has portrayed a lot of guesses and attempts which have very little chances of success.

For example, the main guess was made by the protagonist,
Philip Sletherby when he exclaimed that  Bertie was a fraud and he was trying to steal his money.

He was able to say this when he asked Bertie how her mother looked. Bertie, who had last met her mother two months ago replied that she had that dark hair and fresh complexion.

Philip only knew her mother as a brilliant blonde because he had met her before. But, he got to know by his friend, Claude people, that Mrs. Honoria Salpten Jago had dark hair but she presented herself as a beautiful blonde just 2 weeks ago and surprised everyone. After hearing this, Philip went quiet and realised that Bertie was really her son. (We don’t surely know that but I am making a shot in the dark as well.)

~Puroo Duggal

8 Corbett

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A shot in the dark  is an Idiom
which means guessing . I think the title is justified because Philip was just guessing that the person is a fraud but he could be wrong also

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A Shot in the Dark is an idiom used to express a wild guess(a guess that has less chances of being correct) which is done when you have no information in that field.
In this story Mr. Saki  tells us a bout the Shot in the Dark which Mr.Philip Sletherby made in the recognition of Bertie(Mrs. Honoria Saltpen Jago's son).He believed him to be an imposter as when he told him that he had the demi lion crest not the greyhound crest Mr.Philip doubted him and after he told him that Mrs. Honoria had black hair he realized that Bertie had been lying and was an imposter (but actually they had 2 crests which Mr.Philip did not know as he had only seen the greyhound crest also Bertie did not know if she had become a blonde now but 5 weeks ago she had black hair but the problem was that Mr.Philip Sletherby had only seen her as a blonde.

This was the shot in the dark made by him and could cost him a fortune if Bertie would not tell his mother that it was not Mr. Phillip's mistake as he only  came to know about the new and changed Honoria, plus Mr.Philip did not know about their family history and had only seen Mrs. Honoria Saltpen Jago's crest.

So it completely depends on Bertie if he would forgive him or not which depends on the writer if he would change the story or not(completely not in my hands)
Thanks For Reading :)
Regards,
Hriday

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Shot in the Dark means to make a wild guess without much information. It’s basically a misconception which is the main theme of the story

HH Munro must’ve found this as suitable title as the protagonist of the story Philip Sletherby gets into a misconception about Bertie who claims to be the second son of Mrs. Saltpen Jago .
Bertie claimed while describing Mrs. Saltpen Jago’s looks that she had  dark brown hair . But Bertie had not seen Mrs. Jago for six months and she recently got her hair blonde.

With this misconception Sletherby thought that Bertie was a fraud and even denied to lend him money . By the end of the story it was still a suspense whether Bertie was Mrs. Jago’s son or not

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A short in the dark is a quotidian idiom, which means taking a guess without knowing how it'll impact the future. Saki uses this idiom to briefly describe his entire story. The story talks about the protagonist Mr. Philip Sletherby and how he made a wrong conception on Miss Honoria Saltpen Jago's son, Bertie who hadn't seen her for quite a months.
Philp Sletherby met Bertie during his way to meet Miss Saltpen Jago. When Bertie and Philip Sletherby officially met Bertie told Sletherby about how he had lost his coin purse and it would be really a favor if he'd give him some pounds for the rest of the trip. Philip Sletherby at first hesitantly agreed to this, however when Bertie made a wrong but old statement about his mothers hair, Sletherby refused to lend the money because he thought he'd been fooled by Bertie. Bertie was rather angry and confused about Philp Sletherby made such a false statement about his relation with Miss Saltpen Jago. While travelling in the car to reach Bill Manor, Sletherby talks to some claude men who tell him how Miss Saltpen Jago changed to blonds a few days  ago and that's when he realizes that Bertie was right and he was not just making a fallacious attempt to gain money. He instantly regrets his choice of not giving money to Bertie.

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A shot in the dark typically is and idiom which means taking a wild guess based on very less information or no information.

I think the story was named 'A Shot In The Dark' because Philip Sletherby was taking a wild guess on what he had noticed about Bertie and was trying to make a decision keeping all the things in mind. He was uncertain at first, whether to  trust Bertie or not but as he kept asking questions and got answers which seemed wrong to him, he was almost certain that Bertie was a scammer and not the heir of Miss Saltpen Jago due to which he did not lend him the money which turned out to be a false accusation later.....

In conclusion, Philip Sletherby took ‘A shot in the dark’ by miss judging Bertie without knowing the fact that Mrs. Saltpen Jago had recently changed her hair colour from dark brown to blonde and the fact that the Jago family has 2 different crests. While confronting Bertie, Sletherby took a wild guess, and with little information deemed him to be an imposter and took away his chances of being a member of the Parliament.

This just shows us that we should sometimes show some trust keeping in mind all the facts and we should be certain and sure about the decisions we are making and learn form this story by Saki that 'A shot in the dark' doesn't always work out.

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'A shot in the dark' is a common idiom used to express a person taking a wild guess or acting on a situation with very less information. I believe that the author named this short story 'A shot in the dark ' because the main character of the story philp sletherby took a shot in the dark . Philp sletherby in the start of the story was  boarding a train to the home of mrs Saltpen Jago . On the train ride he meets a man named Bertie who claims to be the son of Mrs Saltpen Jago . As they meet Bertie exclaims how happy he was to see one of his mother's friend on the train as he had done an awfully embarassing thing and required someones help. Bertie explains to philp sletherby that how he had lost his coin purse and without it he won't be able to take forward on his trip as he was penniless , he further asks philp sletherby to lent him some money so he could continue on his trip. At first philp sletherby had no doubts on wether Bertie was mrs Saltpen jago's son or not, but as the conversation continued his suspicion grew as at first when he normally had asked for what his crest was he realised it was different from mrs Saltpen jago's to further investigate him he asked wether or not his mother resembled him and he answered that she had brown hair just like him at that moment philp sletherby was quite sure that Bertie was lying because he remembered his mother as a blonde. As he became sure that Bertie wasn't mrs Saltpen jago's son he didn't lent him the money . Further in the story whence he is chatting with claude people in a car to bill manor claude people told him how miss Saltpen Jago had changed her hair colour that's when he realised he had made a grave mistake and thus getting a bad result from his 'shot in the dark'

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I've narrowed why this story is called A Shot In The Dark down to two reasons. One of them could be that Sletherby took a chance dismissing Bertie, Mr. Saltpen Jago's son. However this wouldn't be logically correct because the idiom is used when you are unsure about an occurrence and Sletherby was convinced that Bertie was scamming him.

Another reason, and a more feasible one is that he took a shot in the dark by going to Mrs. Saltpen Jago's house despite the incident. There was a chance Bertie wouldn't say anything.

Saki was an incredulous writer and it is hard to analyze work like his, but in my opinion, these 2 reasons are the most suitable.

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A shot in the dark means a wild guess based on very less information or no information.

Saki chose the title A shot in the dark because Mr. Philip Sletherby made a wild guess that Bertie was not Mrs. Saltpen Jago's son. Mr. Sletherby was travelling by train towards Brill Manor to get a seat in the parliament re-election. He relied on a lady named Saltpen Jago who was of some social importance.
When travelling he met a man named Bertie who said he was Mrs. Saltpen Jago's son who had lost his coin purse  (with his crest )and asked for some money from Mr. Sletherby. Mr. Sletherby asked bertie about his mother's hair which he said was dark brown and his crest which was the Saltpen crest (  demi lion ). Philip stated that Mrs. Saltpen Jago's hair was blonde and that she used the Jago crest ( greyhound ), Hence taking a shot inn the dark and explaining how Bertie was an imposter therefore  not giving him the money.
After, Sletherby was received by a man named Claude. Sletherby came to know that Bertie’s mother Jago had changed her dark brown hair to a blonde just five weeks ago. and that Bertie was telling the truth.

Due to this unfortunate guess Saki named the Story A SHOT IN THE DARK.

Regards,
Vriddhi Gulati

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A Shot in the Dark is an idiom which  means a wild, unsubstantiated guess; also, an attempt that has little chance for success. For example, in this story a man called Philip Sletherby travelled by train towards Brill Manor. His intention of travelling was to get a seat in the parliament re-election. He relied on one lady named Honoria Saltpen Jago, an influential lady, who if he managed to impress and gain her favor he would secure a seat in the  parliament  after meeting her Philip is invited to stay at her country house from Friday-to-Tuesday. If he failed to find favor in her eyes the local leaders  would probably cool off in their early enthusiasm for him.
On the train he is greeted by a young man called Bertie who claimed to be Mrs. Saltpens son .Mr. Philip doubted him and after he told him that Mrs. Honoria had black hair he realized that Bertie was lying and was an imposter .
This was the shot in the dark the Philip made and would cost him a fortune if Bertie comes there and tells his mother the incident on the train and that would cost him the position in the parliament . If only he knew about the crest and about Mrs. Saltpens new appearance he could have avoided this   situation

So i believe that it completely depends on Bertie if  would forgive Mr. Philip or not which depends on the writers mood to change story or write a sequel of the story explaining  what happens next.
Regards,
Prithish