"a first pass at" is a commonly used phrase in written English.
It typically refers to the initial attempt, effort, or review of something. For example, "The team made a first pass at solving the problem, but more work needs to be done."
On a first pass, at least, she didn't find much.
The conductor Zubin Mehta gave her a first pass at Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" in Florence, Italy, in 1995.
More recently, The Times has used a digital filtering algorithm to take a first pass at some categories of comments and quickly cull offending matter.
He rose shortly after 6am, made coffee and settled down to work quickly, perhaps after taking a first pass at the crossword.
So the meeting at least as a first pass at the issue is a complete waste.Third, he meets an extremely talented Japanese woman at a dinner party who asks whether the association is looking to hire staff.
But here, at least, is a first pass at a comprehensive list of good places for Dropsy Dads to nap in a kids' museum this summer: Now, there's a simple solution for this condition, and I am surprised that nobody has exploited it yet.
His sport utility vehicle had to make a second pass at the building before he could get out.
Apparently, Cosby did not receive the message, prosecutors say, because he made a second pass at Constand during a subsequent encounter.
Where parents have become addicted to crystal meth, prescription painkillers or heroin, grandparents have stepped in and are taking a second pass at raising children.
And at about the same time that Mr. Jongerius and his group made a second pass at the city, construction was just beginning on 300 to 350 homes on IJburg, an island not far from the city center.
The programs are not interchangeable: programs intended to enhance grades assume a second pass at the material, and undergraduate and post-bac grades in those subjectsare usually melded to present to medical schools.
