A Shot in the Dark

a Determinative

— A is used when the following word could be any of a certain type. Compare "A book I saw on the shelf" and "The book I gave you yesterday".

a Noun

— A is the first letter of the alphabet. The letter "a" comes before "b". — In some schools, an A is a very high grade. Ron got an A on his earth science test.

shot Noun

— The sound of a gun firing. — Small balls or pellets of lead typically fired from a shotgun.

in Preposition

— Used to show that something is inside something else. The cat is in the box. — Used to show that someone is at home, or is available. Is John in? The Doctor is now in. — Used to show movement towards the inside. The rain came in through the window.

the Determiner

— Used, instead of a, to reference something specific, already known to exist. Compare "I read a book." and "I read the book." — Used with a stress, to show that the word following is special. Are you the John Smith that I went to school with? — Used with an adjective that acts like a noun to mean all of the people concerned The poor are always with us. — Used with superlatives forms of adjectives and adverbs. You are the best.

dark Adjective

— If something is dark, is has no light. The cave is very dark. — If something is dark, it is scary or not pleasant. World War II was a dark time in world history.

dark Noun

— Place where there is no light. Most humans are afraid of the dark. — Late in the day, especially after sunset. Go and play with your friends, but be back before dark! — Darks are clothes that are not light in color.