luck of the draw
9
4.8
- idiom
- Informal
- Only Nos. 1 and 2 are set for certainty, and the rest are just the luck of the draw.
- just the luck of the draw
- luck of the draw, I guess
Loading YouTube…
Watch on YouTubeSo I guess what's the set up with this back market sort of overall experience as with all refurbished items a little bit up to the luck of the draw.
- So I guess what's the set up with this back market sort of overall experience as with all refurbished items a little bit up to the luck of the draw.
- And so we just by the luck of the draw, we're able to be born in a society culture that allowed us to be able to go travel and see these places and learn.
- So, you know, on that it's like a luck of the draw and I'm just, you know, happy that it was everything was able to turn out as well as it did.
Examples
-
I could understand why he was pissed, but at the same time, it was just the luck of the draw that he'd seen me with Robin.
Fiction book (1990) -
Luck of the draw, I guess.
-
That, my friend, is the luck of the draw.
-
Just the luck of the draw, right?
-
The luck of the draw.
-
Just the luck of the draw, as Rich had said.
Fiction book (1995) -
Just the luck of the draw, really.
Blog text (18) -
It was the luck of the draw.
-
Well, that's the luck of the draw.
-
Winning the lottery was purely the luck of the draw.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A force that makes good or bad things happen by chance
222
3.1
Good or bad luck that happens by chance
137
2.1
An unplanned event or meeting that happens without reason
38
2.7
A situation where the result is decided by chance, not planning
29
4.1
An act of choosing someone or something by chance
23
3.8
An event where winners are chosen by chance from tickets
6
9.1
A risky situation where the result depends mostly on luck
1
6.5
A decision that depends mostly on chance
1
2.9
A way to decide between two options by flipping a coin
A game where you pick a surprise gift by chance
Antonyms
How Random
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'outcome depends on chance' is directly derivable from combining 'luck' (fortuitous outcome) with 'draw' (a selection by lot): it literally denotes the luck that comes from a draw. This noun-of-noun composition and the concept of chance selection are cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Luck of the draw comes from the old practice of picking names or lots from a hat or box, where the draw is the act of taking a paper or ticket at random. Your 'luck' was simply what you happened to pick, so the phrase now means 'it depends entirely on chance'.