genetic lottery
1
7.5
- noun
- /dʒəˈnɛtɪk ˈlɒtəri/
:
lotería genética
- As do I; privilege is "granted" to people in the in-group not because someone judges them at birth to be worthy of that privilege, but because they hit the genetic lottery and were born into positions of privilege.
- win the genetic lottery
It's a genetic lottery, our mental acuity no more under our control than the position of the stars or our father's whereabouts.
- It's a genetic lottery, our mental acuity no more under our control than the position of the stars or our father's whereabouts.
Examples
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It's a genetic lottery, our mental acuity no more under our control than the position of the stars or our father's whereabouts.
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Apparently, Broughton lost the genetic lottery: she inherited the temper but not the money smarts.
Blog text (22) -
Well, she clearly won the genetic lottery.
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I feel fortunate to have won the genetic lottery that placed my birth in this country as opposed to the one where Obama was born.
Blog text (23) -
Little comments about what kind of child our genetic lottery would produce got me investing brain sweat in solving that puzzle.
Fiction book (1999) -
It's a genetic lottery, our mental acuity no more under our control than the position of the stars or our father's whereabouts.
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Many people believe that winning the genetic lottery can lead to advantages in life, such as height or athletic ability.
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She often joked that she had lost the genetic lottery because of her family's health issues.
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Winning the genetic lottery can result in traits like intelligence or good looks, which might influence one's opportunities.
Synonyms
3
4.8
A result that depends only on chance, like drawing names from a hat
The set of genes a living thing inherits from its parents
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'genetic' (relating to genes) with 'lottery' (a random allocation), so its meaning — that inheritance is a matter of chance — is directly and predictably derived from the constituents. The 'lottery' metaphor for chance is common and straightforward, so a B1 learner who knows both words would very likely infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The phrase genetic lottery compares genetic traits to a lottery. It creates a picture of people getting genes by 'chance', so 'winning' the lottery means having advantages like good health or height and 'losing' means having disadvantages.