to strike it lucky

5.7

To get unexpected good luck

phrasal verb

: tener suerte

At the casino, he struck it lucky and won enough money to pay off his debts.

Examples

Well, you struck it lucky, and I'm going to see you through.

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)
- Did we ever strike it lucky.

The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985)
Thunderation, we struck it lucky, this is our chance.

The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985)
After years of searching for a job, she finally struck it lucky when a company called her for an interview.
When they found a hidden treasure during their vacation, they knew they had struck it lucky.

Synonyms

to hit the jackpot

vsto strike it lucky

24 4.0

To have a big, unexpected success because of luck

is a sudden piece of good luck rather than a huge win

to luck out

vsto strike it lucky

Informal

22 8.0

To do well by chance

is a sudden single piece of good luck rather than general success

Antonyms

to strike out

Informal

18 3.9

Fail to succeed in an attempt to do something

How Lucky

to win the lottery

37 2.8

to hit the jackpot

24 4.0

to strike it lucky

5.7

Surface Forms

strike it lucky infinitive

striking it lucky present participle

strikes it lucky third person singular

struck it lucky past

struck it lucky past participle

Morphology

strike + it + lucky

The components 'strike' (encounter by chance) and 'lucky' (experiencing favorable outcomes) make the sense of encountering good fortune partially derivable — a learner can guess that something fortunate was encountered. However, the fixed collocation with the pronoun 'it' and the idiomatic pattern 'strike it lucky' is not fully compositional or predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, so it is only partly transparent.

Etymology

Strike it lucky may come from old miners who suddenly struck gold. The image of 'hitting' a lucky find is why the phrase means 'to have unexpected good luck'.