ghetto lottery
- noun
- /ˈɡɛtoʊ ˈlɒtəri/
- Slang
:
lotería del gueto
- Winning the scholarship was like hitting the ghetto lottery.
Examples
-
He considered the insurance payout his family's ghetto lottery, even though the situation was bittersweet.
-
She joked that finding a $100 bill was her ghetto lottery win.
-
After finding a hundred dollars on the street, he joked that he'd won the ghetto lottery.
-
When the old car finally started without trouble, she felt like she'd hit the ghetto lottery that day.
-
After finding a hundred dollars on the street, he joked that he'd won the ghetto lottery.
-
He considered the insurance payout his family's ghetto lottery, even though the situation was bittersweet.
-
When the old car finally started without trouble, she felt like she'd hit the ghetto lottery that day.
Synonyms
90
3.7
A large amount of money you win in a game like the lottery
57
2.7
A situation where the result is decided by chance, not planning
49
4.4
A game where players mark numbers on a card and hope to win money
Very good luck that happens by chance and seems undeserved
An unexpected good thing that happens by chance
How Fortunate
90
3.7
35
5.1
- Slang
8
3.2
- Informal
13
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun combines 'ghetto' (a disadvantaged area) with 'lottery' (a chance-based win), so the idea of an unexpected piece of good luck occurring in a poor/urban context is directly inferable from the parts. Although it has a slangy or ironic tone, the basic meaning is compositional and predictable for a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Ghetto lottery may come from a joking image: someone in a poor neighborhood (the ghetto) finds a small lucky thing and feels like they won the lottery. So the phrase means an unexpected piece of 'good luck' in a tough place and is often said with a smile or a bit of irony.