in the cards
17
6.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
probable
- A promotion at work seems to be in the cards for her this year.
Unfortunately like a full EV is not in the cards for us at this point in our life.
- Unfortunately like a full EV is not in the cards for us at this point in our life.
- Just be ready, OK, because those I think those things are in the cards for me.
- I just had my last baby and going back to the workforce wasn't really in the cards for me because of child care and all the things.
- And I remember people were praying for his hair and, you know, praying for growth and but it wasn't in the cards for him.
- Like they can't hire you or, you know, maybe a coach isn't in the cards for them, but what are the tools that this person can start practising?
- Like cars were not in the cards for what our bodies were evolved to be.
- They would have loved to have this place done and, you know, beyond to the next, but it's just not it wasn't in the cards for us.
Examples
-
Maybe I should ask them if a vacation is in the cards this time?
Blog text (18) -
As great as an Alex Rodriguez trade would be, it's just not in the cards.
Blog text (22) -
I wish I could make it happen... but it's just not in the cards for me.
Blog text (32) -
Unfortunately, no such deal is in the cards.
Academic text (2007) -
It was in the cards.
-
I just don't think it's in the cards for me.
Fiction book (2000) -
Today, Dickie Roberts is certain that a showbiz comeback is in the cards for him.
-
After a long negotiation, a new deal might be in the cards for the company.
-
With all his hard work, success is definitely in the cards for him.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
People expect it to happen or be true
200
3.4
Likely to happen or be true but not certain
59
4.3
Likely to happen in the near future
24
3.2
Very likely to happen or be true
8
3.8
Very likely to happen or be true
1
3.5
Likely to happen in a situation
Likely to happen or be true
Likely to happen soon and making people feel excited
Antonyms
How Likely
Surface Forms
Morphology
in + the + cards
Knowing 'in' and 'cards' (literal playing cards) does not transparently yield the meaning 'likely to happen'—the phrase derives from fortune-telling usage and functions as an idiom. This origin and the lack of a clear compositional relation make the expression unpredictable for a B1 learner who has not encountered it before.
Etymology
The idiom in the cards comes from people who used cards to tell the future. If something showed up in the cards, the reader thought it would happen, so today in the cards means 'likely to happen'.