fat chance
2
8.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
pocas posibilidades
- Fat chance, Mr. Wollander.
- fat chance," she said
Examples
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Fat chance he'll do anything.
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CLEDUS: Fat chance of that out here.
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Well, this is high school, so fat chance.
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- Well, me too, but fat chance.
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It was going to be a surprise, but fat chance now.
-
"Fat chance," says Bea, "fat chance around here."
Fiction book (1990) -
Fat chance they'll have of that!
Blog text (24) -
Fat chance of that.
-
Fat chance, buddy.
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Fat chance anyone will believe that fat chance story.
Synonyms
58
4.6
An unlikely attempt that is still worth trying
10
3.4
A very small possibility that something will happen
6
3.5
A very small possibility that something will happen
How Likely
Surface Forms
Morphology
fat + chance
Although the constituents 'fat' and 'chance' literally suggest a large likelihood, the phrase is used sarcastically to mean the opposite—that something is very unlikely. This ironic inversion is idiomatic and not predictably derivable from the parts, so a B1 learner who only knows the words would likely misunderstand it.
Etymology
Fat chance probably started as a joke on the older phrase 'slim chance'. By saying the opposite in a mocking, joking way, people made a strong, funny image, so fat chance means 'very unlikely to happen'.