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Glite Dictionary
to the gods smile on someone

to the gods smile on someone

1 8.7
Has very good luck and often wins or does well without trying
  • idiom
translation icon : los dioses sonríen a alguien
  • He aced every exam without studying, as if the gods smile on someone such as him.

Examples

  • After receiving two promotions in a year, it seemed the gods smile on someone like her.

  • In difficult times, it feels like the gods are smiling on us.

  • Whenever she enters a raffle, the gods smile on someone and she usually walks away with a prize.

  • It looks like the gods are smiling on them today!

  • Today the gods smile on him as he found a $100 bill on the ground.

  • When she got the job offer after just one interview, it felt like the gods were smiling on her.

  • He felt that the gods smiled on him during his vacation, as everything went perfectly.

Synonyms

to bless
vsto the gods smile on someone
453 1.8

To give someone good luck and happiness

describes someone passively receiving luck as if higher powers favor them

Antonyms

bad luck
166 1.0

Unlucky events that happen by chance

cursed
  • Literature
1 5.3

Having bad luck because of a magic spell, sometimes used to show anger or strong feeling

How Lucky

to the gods smile on someone
1 8.7
blessed
  • Formal
8 4.8
lucky
∞ 1.0
favored
  • US
3.7

Surface Forms

the gods smile on someone infinitive
the gods smiled on someone past
the gods smiled on someone past participle
the gods smiling on someone present participle
the gods smiles on someone third person singular

Morphology

the + god + smile + on + someone

The phrase personifies deities so that 'smile' is used metaphorically to mean approval or favor; a learner who knows 'god', 'smile' and 'on' can often infer 'be in favor of / give good luck to someone'. Because this relies on metaphor and cultural personification rather than strict compositional meaning, it is somewhat predictable but not fully literal or transparent.

Etymology

The gods smile on someone comes from the image of powerful gods looking down and smiling on a person when good things happen to them. So, it means someone has 'good luck'.