oddsn.
/ɒdz/, U.S. /ɑdz/ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > forgiveness > grant forgiveness [verb (intransitive)]
pardon?c1450
to make odds even?a1513
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > be or become equal [verb (intransitive)]
evenOE
peerc1400
aperea1450
apparagea1450
likea1450
to make odds evena1616
sharea1616
twin1626
size1639
equalize1906
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. c Than said bernys bald..We sal evin that is od or end in the pane.]
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 84 Implore, adore, thow indeflore, To mak our oddis evyne.
1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xvi. 70 Quhen ȝe forgaif him all his cryme, And maid his oddis euin.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iii. i. 41 Yet death we feare That makes these oddes, all euen. View more context for this quotation
1746 T. Blacklock Poems Several Occasions in Poems (1793) 204 If faults acknowledg'd be forgiven, And all our former odds made even, Pray write me soon.
a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 171 Death looks down with nods and smiles, And makes the odds all even.
1856 E. B. Browning Aurora Leigh viii. 349 To sorrow for mankind And even their odds.
1902 R. Kipling Islanders in Times 4 Jan. 9/6 Will ye..lustily even the odds, With nets and hoops and mallets, with racquets and bats and rods?
2. † b. The condition or fact of being unequal; disparity in number, amount, or quality; dissimilarity, inequality. at odds: unequal, different. Obsolete (regional in later use).
a. The amount by which one number or quantity differs from another, or by which one thing exceeds or surpasses, or falls short of or below another; amount in excess or defect; difference. Frequently in by odds: by some way (in later use Irish English). Now rare.Cf. by all odds at sense 6b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > relationship between quantities > difference or discrepancy
odds1525
apotome1571
difference1745
absolute error1775
residual1854
error of closure1981
1525 in J. A. Clyde Acta Dominorum Concilii (1943) 130 Of [£400] steirelingis extending to [£600] grete Flemys money with certane oddis.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke vi. 75 Whiche is by a great oddes higher.
1565 in Cal. State Papers Scotl. (1900) II. 142 [Asking his help in repayment of £120 sterling] and some oddes.
1587 J. Higgins Brennus in Mirror for Magistrates (1946) 278 Within the walles hereof are greater offerings farre by odds: Th'attyre, crownes, scepters, statures, plate and garnish of the Gods.
1605 R. Verstegan Restit. Decayed Intelligence ii. 27 More woords by oddes then thease, may be found.
1640 W. Bridge True Souldiers Convoy 86 What shall weigh downe this odds but prayer?
1671 A. Marvell Let. 6 Apr. in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 138 It [sc. a bill] was retaind by the odds of two voices.
1690 A. Shields Short Memorial Sufferings & Grievances Presbyterians Scotl. 34 The number of the slain..amount too about 400 and some odds.
1799 G. Washington Writings (1893) XIV. 234 The cheapest and by odds the most convenient mode.
1837 T. Hood in Comic Ann. 144 At long and last the odds we split.
a1916 J. W. Riley Compl. Wks. (1916) II. 566 The old-fashioned gourd that was sweeter, by odds, Than the goblets of gold at the lips of the gods!
1953 M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal 200/2 By odds,..by far. He's better by odds than the other.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > inequality > [noun]
unevenness1398
disparagec1430
inequality1531
unequality?1541
odds1542
unequalness?1548
unegalness1561
imparity1563
disparity1597
disequality1602
disparison1609
inadequation1631
inequivalence1879
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes ii. f. 252v Augustus..admonyshed his doughter Iulia, to marke what greate difference and oddes there was betwene twoo women of high estate.
1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. Pref. sig. a.iiijv I am so certaine, thexcellencie of hys actes, and the basenes of my braine to be so far at oddes.
1565 T. Harding Confut. Apol. Church of Eng. ii. iii. f. 49v Euen among the most blessed Apostles..in likenes of honour there was oddes of power.
1587 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Iland Brit. (new ed.) ii. i. 139/2 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) I There is an irreconciliable ods betweene them and those of the papists.
1613 M. Ridley Short Treat. Magneticall Bodies To Rdr. sig. A4 Their proportion..being at too great oddes.
1631 T. May Contin. Lucan Contin. vii. 329 Twixt whom and Cæsar was as great an ods Almost, as twixt the Furies and the Gods.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. xvi. 339 Though there be a manifest odds betwixt the bigness of the Diametre.
1756 M. Calderwood in Scotsman (1884) 13 Dec. 9/6 To see the odds of clergymen in one country from another..entirely puts out bigotry.
1839 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe III. iv. 367 Nature has made little odds among men of mature age as to strength or knowledge.
1854 J. R. Lowell Cambr. 30 Years Ago in Prose Wks. (1890) I. 80 The New England proverb says, ‘All deacons are good, but—there's odds in deacons’.
1863 J. Nicholson Kilwuddie 130 Experience mak's a' the odds betwixt the man an' bairn.
c. Difference in respect of benefit or detriment. Now colloquial in negative and interrogative contexts, esp. in what's the odds?, what odds? (now chiefly Irish English): what does it matter? it makes (also is) no odds: it makes no difference, it doesn't matter; as makes no odds: as makes no difference.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > difference > [noun]
diversitya1340
difference1340
variancec1374
distancea1382
unlikenessa1387
variationc1405
discrepation?a1425
distinction1435
severaltyc1449
unlikelinessc1450
dissemblance1463
unlikelihood1483
alteritya1500
indifferencec1503
discrepancea1522
dissimilitude1532
differency1542
variety1552
discernment1570
disparitya1575
discrepancy1579
otherness1587
discernance1592
imparity1608
disanalogy1610
disresemblance1622
dislikeness1623
diff1624
inconformity1625
irresemblance1628
variousness1628
odds1642
disparation1654
aliety1656
disparility1656
disparateness1659
severality1664
nonconformity1672
unconformableness1712
dissimilarity1715
differentness1727
differ1787
allogeneitya1834
otherwiseness1890
otherliness1937
diversion-
the world > relative properties > relationship > identity > the same [phrase] > it makes no difference
it makes (also is) no odds1776
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > be of no importance [phrase] > either way
it makes (also is) no odds1776
what's the odds?1826
as makes no odds1955
1642 D. Rogers Naaman To Rdr. sig. B4 So great the oddes is, in what way a truth be uttered.
1657 W. Morice Coena quasi Κοινὴ Def. xv. 212 Aristippus would have found no odds in dying by the bite of a Lion.
1695 J. Locke Further Considerations conc. Raising Value of Money 102 Whether it be any odds to England.
1776 G. Campbell Philos. of Rhetoric I. i. v. 141 Their being compounded would make no odds.
1787 J. Beattie Scoticisms 64 The omission of a point sometimes makes great odds in the sense.
1826 Sessions Papers 11 Dec. 86/1 I asked Jackson whose they were—he said, ‘What odds; they are mine.’
1840 W. M. Thackeray Shabby Genteel Story ix, in Fraser's Mag. Oct. 410/1 Suppose I do die,..what's the odds? Caroline doesn't care for me.
1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xiii. 165 It makes no odds whether a man has a thousand pounds, or nothing, there.
1885 ‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus viii. 94 But there, it's no odds.
1886 W. Besant Children of Gibeon I. i. ix. 201 What's the odds to a working man whether he spells right or wrong?
1923 D. H. Lawrence Kangaroo xvi. 345 That sense of sardonic tolerance, endurance. ‘What's the odds, boys?’
1955 P. M. Young Elgar, O.M. ii. xvii. 288 Elgar's five great marches..were inspired by the spectacular. As near as makes no odds they are the musical counterpart to the Changing of the Guard.
1968 J. D. Carr Papa Là-bas ii. ix. 111 Whether I sideswiped him, or he sideswiped me, is no odds to anybody now.
1973 ‘M. Underwood’ Reward for Defector xxii. 158 What's the difficulty?..Not that it makes any odds.
1982 F. McGuinness Factory Girls iv. 23/1 Do yous all want to come up to our house for tea? Susan'll kill me, but sure what odds.
1998 Seahorse Internat. Sailing Apr. 7/1 The committee..were being offered 15 free boats by Sydney Yachts, or as near to free as makes no odds.
3.
a. Gambling. The ratio between the amounts staked by the parties in a bet, based on the expected probability either way. to lay (also give, offer) odds: to offer a bet with odds favourable to the other party. to take odds: to accept such a bet.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > bet [verb (intransitive)] > offer favourable odds
to lay (also give, offer) odds1560
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > [noun] > odds
odds1748
price1829
betting1901
line1964
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > bet [verb (intransitive)] > accept a bet
to take odds1845
1560 T. Churchyard Surreioindre vnto Camels Reioindre in Contention bettwyxte Churchyeard & Camell 110 Vnder those fayr angels loks is hyd a deuelish minde I durst lay oddes who trust you long, ful false he shall you finde.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 v. v. 103 I wil lay ods, that ere this yeere expire, We beare our ciuil swords..As farre as France. View more context for this quotation
1637 J. Shirley Hide Parke iv. sig. G4 Fa. Forty pounds to thirty. Lo. Done, done, Ile take all oddes.
1670 C. Cotton tr. G. Girard Hist. Life Duke of Espernon i. iv. 156 He was so confident of his skill, as to offer odds, that..he would either kill the Duke of Espernon, or very much endanger his life.
1748 Whitehall Evening-post 13–15 Sept. The Odds, at starting, were on Babram.
1764 T. Bayes in Philos. Trans. 1763 (Royal Soc.) 53 410 There would be the odds of the millioneth power of 2 to one.
1817 J. Austen Sanditon v, in Minor Wks. (1954) 385 Now, if he were here, I know he would be offering odds that either Susan, Diana or Arthur would appear..to have been at the point of death within the last month.
1845 B. Disraeli Sybil I. i. i. 1 ‘I'll take the odds against Caravan.’ ‘In poneys?’ ‘Done.’
1871 R. H. Hutton Ess. (1877) I. 48 A game of chance where the odds are a hundred to one against you.
1904 J. London Sea-wolf xxiv. 218 ‘I'll lay odds of five to one it's the Macedonia.’ No one accepted his offer.
1915 J. Buchan Thirty-nine Steps x. 248 The odds were a thousand to one that I might have..missed it.
1967 A. MacLean Where Eagles Dare vi. 118 Briefly and bleakly he wondered what odds any reasonable bookmaker would have given against their chances of reaching the castle.
1990 Accountancy Mar. 78/1 Most bets are made on the basis of odds quoted shortly before a race, or at starting prices.
2001 Sunday Mail (Glasgow) (Electronic ed.) 25 Mar. Bookies are set to offer the stingiest odds ever laid on the General Election after taking a pounding from punters in the 1997 poll.
b. to shout the odds: to call out the odds offered on contenders in a race or competition; (hence, in extended use) to talk or opine loudly or aggressively (about something).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > loquacity or talkativeness > be talkative [verb (intransitive)] > talk excessively or chatter > with strong feeling
noise?a1425
rave1716
gnatter1826
gush1864
to shout the odds1894
rant1908
steamroller1969
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > bet [verb (intransitive)] > call odds
to shout the odds1894
rort1931
1894 G. Moore Esther Waters xxxii. 262 He shouted the odds, willing to bet against every horse, distributed tickets to the various folk that crowded round him.
1895 Times 10 Jan. 3/3 The defendants and others made prices on the horses and shouted out the odds as upon a racecourse.
1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 257 To shout the odds, to talk too much: to brag: to grumble.
1958 F. Norman Bang to Rights i. 10 He was still shouting the odds about this blag which was..nothing but a dirty great romance.
1960 L. Cooper Accomplices ii. i. 76 There are always a few bloody fools who shout the odds about British justice and fair trials.
1967 Sunday Times 15 Oct. 9 For years he's shouted the odds about the Scouse way of life.
1973 ‘J. Patrick’ Glasgow Gang Observed xv. 131 He still shouts the odds fae the windae when there's a ba'le [sc. battle] oan. ‘Get right intae it, Tim,’ he says.
1990 European 11 May 19/1 Mr Morton is one of nature's high-profile individuals, thumping the table and shouting the odds.
1991 D. Dixon Prohibition to Regulation iii. 91 By the early 1890s, bookmakers could stay within the law only by moving around the enclosure as they shouted the odds.
4. Disagreement, conflict, variance, strife; = difference n.1 3. Now only in at odds (with): in conflict or at variance (with).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > [noun]
unsibeOE
unsaughta1122
un-i-sibc1275
conteckc1290
discordingc1325
distancec1325
discordance1340
dissensionc1384
batea1400
discordc1425
variancec1425
variationc1485
disgreement?1504
distinction1520
factiona1538
jar1546
variety1546
disagreeance1548
disagreeing1548
disagreement1548
misliking1564
odds1567
mislikea1586
discordancy1587
disagree1589
distancy1595
dissent1596
dislike1598
secting1598
dichostasy1606
fraction1609
dissentation1623
ill blood1624
misintelligence1632
clashing1642
misunderstanding1642
discomposure1659
disjointinga1715
uneasiness1744
friction1760
misunderstand1819
unharmony1866
inharmony1867
trouble at (the or t') mill1967
1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) vii. f. 85 Medea found a shift To feyne that Iason and hir selfe were falne at oddes in wroth.
1592 R. Greene Pandosto (new ed.) sig. Bij A compacted knauery..to bring the king and him at oddes.
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. 9 The father..findeth so great fault with them for their oddes and iarring.
1621 R. Montagu Diatribæ Hist. Tithes 393 These two great Dichotomisers, being at odds with all others, and with themselues.
1656 B. Harris tr. J. N. de Parival Hist. Iron Age i. i. xiv. 26 In Germany, they..fell to oddes principally about the Sacrament of the last Supper.
1694 P. A. Motteux Wks. from Rabelais (1737) iv. xxix. 121 Enemies; against whom he is eternally at odds.
1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 130 I was in the greatest Confusion imaginable..; and began to be at odds with myself whether to be glad or sorry.
1765 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy VIII. x. 30 About which your reverences have so often been at odds with one another.
1850 R. W. Emerson Montaigne in Representative Men iv. 171 The superior mind will find itself equally at odds with the evils of society.
1873 R. Browning Red Cotton Night-cap Country iii. 155 Old folk and young folk, still at odds, of course!
1926 H. O. Osgood So this is Jazz 98 Leading philologists of the jazz world are at odds over the correct spelling of the name.
1954 C. R. Attlee As it Happened xvi. 139 He had been at odds with the Conservative Party and was thus free from the taint of Munich.
1987 Smithsonian Aug. 136/2 Until they can make that one-percent risk appear vanishingly small rather than parlously large, science and society will continue to find themselves at odds.
2000 N.Y. Times 13 July f7/2 The [park's] design is inappropriate to the 19th-century buildings.., and at odds with the vastly more sensitive treatment of other recent minipark reclamations.
5. † c. Superior position, advantage; esp. in to take odds of: to take advantage of. Similarly to have the odds of (a person). Obsolete.
a. Difference in favour of one of two contending parties; balance of advantage; superiority in strength, power, resources, etc. †with odds: with the balance of advantage for or against one (obsolete). against the (also all, any) odds: against the (also all, any) opposition; despite whatever obstacles there may be.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > [noun] > advantage over another > balance of, between parties
odds?1575
?1575 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Familiar Epist. (new ed.) Ep. Ded. sig. ij I was constrained with too much oddes, to endure combat with both these furious spirites.
1587 J. Higgins Mirour for Magistrates (new ed.) Albanacte xxxviii At home, with oddes, they durst not byde the stroke.
1608 G. Chapman Conspiracie Duke of Byron ii. sig. D3 His spirits haue flowd so high, In all his conflicts against any odds, That (in his charge) his lips haue bled with feruor.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. ii. 148 You wil take little delight in it,..there is such oddes in the man. View more context for this quotation
1621 J. Fletcher et al. Trag. of Thierry & Theodoret ii. i. sig. E3 Pray you let me take it vp, and if I do not Against all ods of armor and of weapons, With this make him confesse it on his knees, Cut off my head.
1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads xx. 136 Nor does it need; so much we have the ods.
1709 J. Swift Let. conc. Sacramental Test 15 There appeared at least Four to One Odds against them.
1768 H. Brooke Fool of Quality III. xvi. 194 At any weapons, against any odds, I will prove him a traitor.
1787 J. P. Kemble Pilgrim iv. ii. 46 Did it look noble to be o'erlaid with odds? Did it seem manly in a multitude to oppress you?
1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto VIII cvi. 164 The truly brave, When they behold the brave oppressed with odds, Are touched with a desire to shield and save.
1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales I. 259 The odds were now greatly in their favour.
1846 N. Brit. Rev. Nov. 131 If ever there was an age of chivalry it was then, when men fought against all odds in a high and holy cause.
1883 J. Payn Thicker than Water (1884) xxxviii. 306 That courage of his opinions which he never failed to display against any odds.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 818/2 Against overwhelming odds the United States troops held out until honour was satisfied.
1921 Amer. Woman Jan. 3/1 I have been putting up a hard fight, for a time seemingly against all odds.
1939 Fortune Nov. 28/2 The National Guard would have you know that it is a much abused and neglected body carrying on in the face of vast odds.
1971 ‘G. Charles’ Destiny Waltz x. 428 He had held out for the best and—against all the odds—had got it.
1998 E. Brimson Hooligan xlvii. 128 The police loved dishing it out when the odds were in their favour.
b. Equalizing advantage given to a weaker side or competitor. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > judging or umpiring > [noun] > allowance or handicap
odds1591
handicap1849
penalty1885
1591 J. Florio Second Frutes 73 A.: What aduantage or oddes will you giue me? S.: None at all: why should I giue you oddes? A.: Because you play better than I.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. i. 62 Which to maintaine, I would allow him ods, And meete him were I tied to runne afoote, Euen to the frozen ridges of the Alpes. View more context for this quotation
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iv. xx. 346 Warre is a game wherein very often that side loseth which layeth the oddes.
1709 W. Congreve tr. Ovid Art of Love iii, in Wks. (1710) III. 1003 Unequal Force against a naked Foe: No Glory from such Conquest can be gain'd, And Odds are always by the Brave disdain'd.
1725 N. Bailey tr. Erasmus All Familiar Colloquies 41 There's no great Honour in getting a Victory, when odds is taken.
1808 J. H. Sarratt Treat. Game of Chess I. 2 The player who gives odds has always the advantage of the move; except, of course, in those games where the move is also given to the inferior player.
1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well II. vi, in Waverley Novels (1832) 90 You have played on the square with me; nay, more—I am bound to allow you have given me great odds.
1877 Rep. Comm. Plan for Govt. Cities N.Y. in J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. (1888) II. li. 284 Each side feels that it cannot allow any odds to the other.
1975 Oxf. Compan. Sports & Games 830/1 Both [players], in the true tennis tradition, made money by accepting challenges to play matches against odds.
1992 Oxf. Compan. Chess (ed. 2) 166/2 Other frequently found odds are giving the exchange, knight, rook, or queen.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > an opportunity > give opportunity for [verb (transitive)] > take (opportunity)
catchc1425
to take‥vantage (of)1573
apprehend1586
to take odds of1596
to catch at ——1610
feea1616
seize1618
nick1634
to jump at1769
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > [noun] > advantage over another
privilegec1390
advantagec1405
vantage1523
overmatch1542
odds1596
pull1781
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. ii. sig. Aa5 Vnarm'd all was the knight..Whereof he taking oddes, streight bids him dight Himselfe to yeeld his loue. View more context for this quotation
1628 T. Hobbes tr. Thucydides Peloponnesian War (1822) 94 When..we come to undertake any danger we have this odds by it.
1675 W. Wycherley Country-wife ii. 23 I may draw now, since we have the odds of him.
1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. p. xvi I am not ignorant of the great Odds that the Bishop had of me, both in Education and Capacity.
1750 J. Nelson Jrnl. (1836) 23 I have the odds of you, for I have a much worse opinion of myself than you can have.
1861 J. A. Nunes Fast Folks ii. v. 38 Ulysses gains no odds of me! While I can safely boast a right which Homer never gave the sage!
d. Chiefly U.S. regional. to ask (formerly †beg) no odds: to desire no advantage; to seek no favours or special consideration. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > dueness or propriety > [verb (intransitive)] > put forward a claim > seek no favour
to ask (formerly beg) no odds1806
1806 Baltimore Evening Post 5 Mar. 2/2 in R. H. Thornton Amer. Gloss. (1912) 620 No odds he begs Of any beast that walks upon four legs.
1834 Vermont Free Press 7 June A Varmounter never uses a dog... Give him a gun, and he asks no odds.
1857 H. C. Kimball in B. Young et al. Jrnl. Discourses V. 32/2 I ask no odds of them, no more than I do of the dirt I walk on.
1894 Congress. Rec. 29 May 5447/1 South Dakota asks no odds of any State of the Union.
1898 E. N. Westcott David Harum xiv. 128 I want to see how long it'll take to git all over the village that he didn't ask no odds o' nobody.
1995 Visit'n (Vermont Folklife Center) 29 They did for themselves and they didn't ask any odds of anyone.
e. colloquial. over (also above) the odds: past the limit; more than is generally considered acceptable; (now) esp. above the usual price or rate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > excessively [phrase] > exceeding stated limit
over the limit1872
over (also above) the odds1908
1908 Bulletin (Sydney) 10 Dec. 20/3 I shouldn't so much mind if there was any truth in it, but to be bounced by a pair o' plucked pigeons like them two chaps is a bit over the odds.
1918 C. Fetherstonhaugh After Many Days 205 Another bit of slang that originated at Gayndesh was ‘the dead finish’. Now it is ‘the limit’ or ‘above the odds’.
1930 ‘Sapper’ Finger of Fate 103 To be called a damned Englishman by Pedro Gonsalvez is a bit over the odds.
1972 Which? Feb. 50/1 You could even pay more than the list prices. We found some of the tools being sold for perhaps a pound or so over the odds.
1989 L. Underwood One's Company (BNC) 92 Never borrow money from a moneylender..who charges interest way above the odds.
2000 Big Issue 20 Mar. 17/1 In the vague belief that organic food is better for the environment as well as being good for them, they happily pay over the odds.
6.
a. The chances or balance of probability in favour of something happening or being the case; probability, likelihood. Now usually in (the) odds are: the likelihood is. it is odds (that, †but): it is probable; the likelihood is (now rare).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > probability, likelihood > be likely [phrase]
as (it) is likely1395
it is likely1395
it is odds (that, but)1589
(the) odds are1697
looks like?1746
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > probability, likelihood > [noun] > balance of probability
odds1589
1589 J. Lyly Pappe with Hatchet sig. E3v Tis ods but that I shall thrust thee through the buckler into the brain.
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 126 If a Man watch too long, it is odds he will fall asleepe.
1650 Bp. J. Taylor Rule & Exercises Holy Living iv. §7. 301 It is infinite oddes but he will quench the Spirit.
1697 J. Dryden Ded. Georgics in tr. Virgil Wks. sig. ¶2v The Odds are against him that he loses.
1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 158 It was a Million to one odds, that ever he could have been relieved.
1748 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 29 Oct. (1932) (modernized text) IV. 1252 It is odds but you touch somebody or other's sore place.
1755 T. Smollett tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote I. i. ii. 49 For..'tis odds, but they..have us apprehended: and verily, if they do, before we get out of prison, we may chance to sweat for it.
1761 G. Colman Jealous Wife ii. 21 What a damned Piece of Work have I made on't!—I..shall lose my Match, and as to Harriot, why, the Odds are that I lose my Match there too.
1797 T. Park Sonnets 86 'Tis odds that you escape the spatters.
1802 G. Colman Poor Gentleman (new ed.) v. iii. 77 We are on the ground first... What are the odds now, that he doesn't wing me?
1815 C. North Clara iii. iii, in Orig. Poems & Play 127 If it had not been for me, and my Lord Valmonsor, who rode in among them, I think it is odds but they had torn her into a thousand pieces.
1847 T. De Quincey Spanish Mil. Nun viii. 17 It was odds but she had first embarked upon this billowy life from the literal Bay of Biscay.
1859 C. J. Lever Davenport Dunn xlvi The odds are, he'd pull me up pretty sharp for doing so without his authority.
1887 R. Reece May ii. 27 When the stripling wrestler gets a fall from a well-knit master of the game, the odds are that the elder man wins by superior weight.
1915 A. Conan Doyle Valley of Fear i. iii. 48 If he goes by road with his legs all dripping, it's odds that someone will notice him.
1947 D. M. Davin Gorse blooms Pale 204 With the Jerries rocking on their heels the way they were the odds were they'd have taken the count before he got back.
1986 J. Batten Judges v. 209 Odds are that the story is apocryphal.
2001 Nat. Health Oct. 62/3 If you go in tired, burdened and concerned, the odds are that life will look decidedly different when you emerge.
b. North American. by all odds: certainly, undoubtedly, by any reckoning.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > to a great extent or by far
great quantityc1330
far forthly1362
by farc1380
well awayc1390
by half?a1400
by mucha1450
far (and) away1546
by a great sort1579
to stand head and shoulders abovea1683
(by) a long way1741
by a jugful1831
by all odds1832
by a long, damn, etc., sight1834
out and away1834
(by) a long chalk1835
by chalks1835
by long chalks1835
by a street1886
a whole lot1886
1832 J. K. Paulding Westward Ho! II. xi. 113 He first compared Aristotle and the Stagyrite in philosophy, giving it as his opinion that the latter was the deeper of the two by all odds.
1850 E. A. Poe Thou art Man in Wks. II. 420 You are, by all odds, the heartiest old fellow I ever came across in all my born days.
1866 W. D. Howells Venetian Life 50 By all odds, the loungers at Florian's were the most interesting.
1898 E. N. Westcott David Harum iii. 25 Dinner is by all odds the chief event of the day on board ship to those who are able to dine.
1943 Internat. Jrnl. Relig. Educ. Apr. 14/1 By all odds the most significant function of the church ought to be its service in the immediate community where it is located.
1951 J. P. Marquand Melville Goodwin x. 163 Lee said that McClellan was the best Union general he fought against by all odds.
1974 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 18 July w1/1 They're the Montrealaise, by all odds the most stylish women in North America.
1992 Gallerie: Women Artists' Monographs Dec. 63 By all odds, I should not be here today. As a child I knew hunger, welfare homes, [etc.].
7.
a. odds and ends n. (also †odds on ends) odd fragments or remnants; miscellaneous articles or things; bits and pieces. Cf. end n. 5. [Probably an alteration of odd ends, found in same sense much earlier (see odd adj. 8a).]
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > variety > [noun] > miscellaneous things
short end1560
threads and thrums1600
varieties1624
giblet1638
thrum1648
scrip-scrap1711
sundries1711
odds and ends1761
oddment1821
odd-come-short1836
what-nota1861
flotsam1861
odds and sods1921
odds and bobs1957
a1740 J. Brereton Poems (1744) 46 'Tis a kind of a Patchwork; I own amongst Friends, A new sort of Sonnet of Odds and of Ends... Cou'd I manage my Odds, and Ends, to account, Like a Piece of Patchwork I've seen at the Mount.
?1746 ‘T. Bobbin’ View Lancs. Dial. Gloss. Odds-on-eends, odd things.]
1761 G. Colman Jealous Wife iv. 74 He pieces out the Matter with Maxims, and Scraps of Philosophy, and Odds and Ends of Sentences.
1779 G. Keate Sketches from Nature (ed. 2) I. 51 'Tis but unstrapping my chaise trunk, laying out my odds and ends, and the affair is over.
1821 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto III lxxxiii. 44 Having pick'd up several odds and ends Of free thoughts.
1852 J. W. Carlyle Lett. II. 193 There are still some odds and ends for the carpenter to do.
1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer xxxv. 270 He had just breakfasted upon some stolen odds and ends of food.
1903 J. London Call of Wild v. 130 Charles and Hal put the last odds and ends on top of the mountainous load.
1950 R. Davies At Heart's Core 4 She wears a loose gown and moccasins, and has a few odds and ends of ill-chosen adornment.
1977 T. Heald Just Desserts i. 10 You know he was one of ours?.. Provided us with information, tip-offs, odds and ends.
2001 New Yorker 16 Apr. 16/2 Kitschy collages assembled from odds and ends..salvaged by the artist from the streets of Los Angeles.
b. British colloquial odds and sods n. (originally Services' slang) miscellaneous people or (later) articles; (subsequently, more generally) odds and ends.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > variety > [noun] > miscellaneous things
short end1560
threads and thrums1600
varieties1624
giblet1638
thrum1648
scrip-scrap1711
sundries1711
odds and ends1761
oddment1821
odd-come-short1836
what-nota1861
flotsam1861
odds and sods1921
odds and bobs1957
1921 Notes & Queries 26 Nov. 424/1 Odds and sods, details attached to Batt[alion] H.Q., e.g. sanitary men.
1930 J. Brophy & E. Partridge Songs & Slang Brit. Soldier: 1914–1918 143 Odds and Sods, ‘details’ attached to Battalion Headquarters for miscellaneous offices: batmen, sanitary men, professional footballers and boxers on nominal duties, etc.
a1935 T. E. Lawrence Mint (1955) ii. ix. 125 Ten minutes late for dinner. Odds and sods to eat.
1950 G. Wilson Brave Company xiii. 193 Add three-inch mortar, four-point-two inch mortar, Vickers and all the odds and sods.
1955 E. Waugh Officers & Gentlemen i. vi. 64 They left me behind with the other odds and sods.
1975 Time Out 26 Sept. 57/4 Although Tolkien's planned preface to the poems was never realised, his son Christopher has created one mostly out of his father's odds and sods—a radio talk plus notes.
1993 Caves & Caving Winter 14/2 A few odds and sods of new passage have been found.
c. British colloquial odds and bobs n. odds and ends, bits and bobs (see bits and bobs at bit n.2 and adj.2 Phrases 1c(a)(ii)).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > variety > [noun] > miscellaneous things
short end1560
threads and thrums1600
varieties1624
giblet1638
thrum1648
scrip-scrap1711
sundries1711
odds and ends1761
oddment1821
odd-come-short1836
what-nota1861
flotsam1861
odds and sods1921
odds and bobs1957
1957 R. Hoggart Uses of Literacy v. 120 The shop window was an indiscriminate tangle of odds-and-bobs at coppers each.
1977 D. Clark Gimmel Flask iv. 70 A mixed lot of glass..odds and bobs collected from round a house.
1996 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 3 Mar. 12 [The play] settles for easy jokes and odds and bobs of farce.
Compounds
C1. General attributive (in sense 3).
odds-giver n.
ΚΠ
1875 in City of London Chess Mag. (1876) 2 15 The odds giver, finding the receiver thus coached up by us, may try to entrap him by playing 4 P to Q Kt 4.
1892 Daily News 12 Sept. 3/4 Singularly enough the odds-giver was never in the race.
1981 Jrnl. Conflict Resol. 25 191 Three groups of experts: the official track handicappers, the odds-givers of the Daily Racing Forum, [etc.].
2014 Managem. Today Dec. 32/1 In fourth place, the Emerald Isle's favourite odds-giver, Paddy Power, puts in its best ever BMAC performance.
oddsmaker n.
ΚΠ
1931 Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune 9 Dec. 6/1 Samuel Insull, too, was a good odds maker, holding Smith at something like 6 to 1.
1994 ArtNews Feb. 47/1 The 30-year-old sculptor Rachel Whiteread..confirmed most oddsmakers' forecasts here by becoming the first woman to win the award.
2013 J. H. Sherman Bloodline Chron. 234 There were these two boys arguing with the oddsmaker over whether or not they were old enough to enter the fights.
odds receiver n. Chess
ΚΠ
1875 in City of London Chess Mag. 2 (1876) 15 Our friend the odds receiver will see that we are chary of bringing our Queen out early.
1900 Westm. Gaz. 21 Apr. 3/3 We have played games by the hundred giving the odds of the QR, and have invariably made use of the right of castling QR without the least objection from the odds receiver.
1962 Chess Rev. Sept. 258/3 Black could probably—but not by any method to be expected of an odds-receiver—escape. He took the Black Pawn with his King.
2000 P. J. Tamburro Learn Chess from Greats 142/1 The odds receiver gets so convinced that the king is invincible that the wager is easily sent to double or nothing when the odds giver sarcastically says that he can beat the lone king.
C2.
odds ratio n. Statistics a ratio of two probabilities, used chiefly as a measure of the comparative probability of an event occurring under control and experimental conditions.
ΚΠ
1945 H. A. Freeman et al. Sequential Anal. Statist. Data: Applic. §3. 23 (heading) The odds ratio.
1955 C. M. Woolf Investig. Genetic Aspects Carcinoma of Stomach & Breast 306 The slope (s) and the intercepts (—h1 + h2) of the parallel lines were computed from four values: u1, the odds ratio below which we say that no familial tendency exists for breast cancer; [etc.].
1958 Jrnl. Royal Statist. Soc. B. 20 222 The problem of getting a simple method of calculating limits for the odds-ratio in a 2 × 2 table is of intrinsic interest.
1990 Internat. Jrnl. Epidemiol. 19 872/2 Odds ratios were calculated as estimates of relative risk of cancer for ginseng ‘ever taken’ versus ‘never taken’ by the cases and controls.
2006 L. S. Meyers et al. Appl. Multivariate Res. vi. 230 Obtaining the odds ratio is one of the important objectives in logistic regression.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
oddsv.
/ɒdz/, U.S. /ɑdz/ 1. transitive. English regional (chiefly midlands and southern) and Scottish. To alter, esp. for the better; to redress or put right (a situation). Frequently in negative contexts.
ΚΠ
1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies vi, in Macmillan's Mag. Jan. 214/2 So they odds it till it comes even, as we say down in Berkshire.
1870 F. P. Verney Lettice Lisle viii. 92 But what's the use o' talking? you can't odds it with me.
1895 ‘Rosemary’ Under Chilterns 20 Us cu'n't odds it no'ow this time, mother.
c1920 in Sc. National Dict. (at cited word) He's always 'e same, naething oddses him.
2. transitive. colloquial. To take the ‘odds’ on (something); to escape or evade; (also) to risk, take a chance on, bet (frequently with it).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from (action) [verb (transitive)] > avoid or shun > get out of doing something
evade1722
to get out of ——a1817
to get off ——1835
odds1958
1958 F. Norman Bang to Rights ii. 52 I used to go to church every Sunday only because I couldn't odds it.
1970 G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard iv. 124 I can't odds being mixed up in crime.
1981 J. Sullivan Only Fools & Horses (1999) I. 1st Ser. Episode 5. 50 Grandad: If they'd never seen an elephant before how did they know it was an elephant? Del: For Gawd sake Grandad, an elephant's a bloody elephant, innit? I mean you can't odds that!
1985 R. Busby Hunter iii. 23 If he's in bother, I'd odds it he'll head back for the smoke. Camden Town's his manor.
1990 T. Thorne Bloomsbury Dict. Contemp. Slang (1991) 370/1 Odds it, to ‘play the odds’, take a risk or chance... You're oddsing it a bit, aren't you?
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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