stroke of luck
8
3.2
- noun
:
golpe de suerte
- - It was a stroke of luck, as it turned out, for one person in particular.
And the only thing that saves him is a stroke of luck.
- And the only thing that saves him is a stroke of luck.
- Now again, huge stroke of luck for the Allies.
- And I, it really feels like a stroke of luck in timing.
- And you know, you get these, these strokes of luck things happen.
- And like I always describe it as it's a it's a big like stroke of luck.
Examples
-
Turned out to be quite a stroke of luck, that bear turning up when he did.
-
This is really a stroke of luck for me.
-
By some amazing stroke of luck, we have got our own private room.
-
When people you love have a stroke of luck, it's almost better than being lucky yourself.
-
The thing was that morning I had had a particular stroke of luck.
Fiction book (1991) -
What an incredible stroke of luck.
Fiction book (1993) -
By some stroke of luck, one of them even works at the embassy.
Blog text (29) -
In a stroke of luck, friends lent me their one-room house in Hawaii, which had been closed up for some time.
Academic text (2010) -
Aria had thought it was just a stroke of luck when Jochi became her choirboy.
Fiction book (2002) -
By some amazing stroke of luck, we have got our own private room.
Synonyms
547
1.0
A fortunate event that happens by chance
443
2.7
A sudden chance that leads to success
66
2.5
A lucky event or success that happens by chance
35
5.1
A large amount of money that you get unexpectedly
32
5.1
An unexpected good event that happens by chance
28
4.9
Something very helpful that you did not expect when you needed it
15
7.9
A happy chance event that brings good results
13
3.2
A sudden chance that helps you succeed
8
3.9
Good luck that happens by chance, not because you worked for it
1
9.5
An extra helpful thing you get, often at work
A lucky unexpected event that brings something good
An unexpected good thing that happens by chance
Very good luck that happens by chance and seems undeserved
Antonyms
How Lucky
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from 'stroke' (here meaning a sudden event or turn) + 'of' + 'luck', so its meaning 'an unexpected lucky event' is directly derivable from the constituents. This construction also has close parallels in many languages (e.g. Spanish 'golpe de suerte', French 'coup de chance'), supporting that a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily understand it.
Etymology
The phrase stroke of luck imagines a quick, lucky stroke or touch from chance, as if luck had lightly 'touched' someone. So, it means an unexpected piece of 'good luck'.