take a flyer

Verb

take a flyer (third-person singular simple present takes a flyer, present participle taking a flyer, simple past took a flyer, past participle taken a flyer)

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see take, flyer.
2. (idiomatic) To invest against odds.
   • The oldest girls are eagerly perusing the financial reports, for a certain young man remarked last Sunday night that he had taken a flyer in Q., X. & Z.1906, O. Henry, Man About Town
3. (idiomatic) To make a choice with an uncertain outcome; to take a chance.
   • Many voters said that while they liked Reform, they remembered having taken a flyer on Bob Rae and the NDP, a gamble they had come to regret.1997, Edward Greenspon, “Following the Trail of Campaign '97”, in Alan Frizzell, Jon H. Pammett, editors, The Canadian General Election of 1997, Dundurn Press, →ISBN, page 36
   • In contrast, other leaders are almost totally risk-averse. They haven't taken a flyer in their adult life.2002, Bill Hybels, Courageous Leadership, Zondervan, published 2002, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   roll the dice, take a gamble, take a risk