| 单词 | to have a chinaman's chance |
| 释义 | > as lemmasto have a Chinaman's chance Phrases P1. Australian colloquial. he (also she, you, etc.) must have killed a Chinaman and variants: used to indicate that a person is suffering from bad luck (hyperbolically implying that this bad luck is punishment for a crime committed by the person).Now likely to be considered offensive. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > calamity or misfortune > unfortunately [phrase] > suffering misfortune out of luck1740 down on one's luck1823 he (also she, you, etc.) must have killed a Chinaman1885 shit out of luck1934 onto (also on to) plums1991 1885 Leader (Melbourne) 31 Oct. (Suppl.) 1/5 Bragan, whose temper did not improve as he lost, cursed his luck from start to finish, urging as a reason the curious non sequitur that ‘he must have killed a Chinaman’. 1940 Truth (Brisbane) 23 June 5/5 [The racehorse owner]..reckons he must have killed a Chinaman or walked under too many ladders since he bought Glenfino. 2013 Singleton (New S. Wales) Argus (Nexis) 24 May (Sport section) Someone in the Singleton Greyhounds camp ‘must have killed a chinaman’ as their wretched luck with injuries extended another week. P2. colloquial (chiefly U.S.). to have a Chinaman's chance and variants.Now likely to be considered offensive. [Said to have originated in the California gold rush of the mid 19th cent., with reference to Chinese miners exploiting materials abandoned or discarded by white miners, and unlikely to yield much.] a. In negative contexts: to have very little chance or no chance whatsoever (of achieving one's goal, realizing one's hopes, etc.). ΚΠ 1893 World (N.Y.) 3 Oct. 6/1 I don't think the horse would have a Chinaman's chance to beat him. 1914 Call (San Francisco) 30 Apr. 6 The poor boob ain't got a Chinaman's chance. 1951 F. Yerby Woman called Fancy (1952) x. 193 You haven't a Chinaman's chance of raising that money in Boston. 1990 K. Vonnegut Hocus Pocus xviii. 142 I didn't have a Chinaman's chance with the Trustees,..not with the sex stuff Wilder had concealed in the folder. When I defended myself against him, I had no idea how well armed he was. b. In positive or conditional contexts: to have the slightest chance; to have the faintest hope. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > improbability, unlikeliness > [noun] > remote chance a hundred to one1647 a million to one1678 long odds1764 long shot1796 off-chance1844 long chance1854 outside chance1867 a fat chance1892 to have a Chinaman's chance1915 1915 ‘I. Hay’ First Hundred Thousand vi. 50 The Service Battalions..must be led by the officers who have trained them if they are to have a Chinaman's chance when we go out. 1952 Electr. World 1 Sept. 32/1 We'll do anything that has a Chinaman's chance of improving the community. 2014 B. Percy Climbing Coliseum (e-book, accessed 2 July 2020) 181 I don't need a partner who's more worried about whether my ass is properly kissed than about whether our plan has a Chinaman's chance of working. < as lemmas |
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