Luck & Chance: English Vocabulary List

used to describe a person who is considered lucky

"The winner was a lucky Devil."

"The winner was a lucky Devil and his lottery ticket matched all six numbers."

used to emphasize how lucky a person is or how successful they are

"Her luck is in today, wow."

"After winning three competitions this month, everyone agrees that his luck is in and he should try for the championship next."

used to say that it is typical of a person to experience an unfortunate event

"Always losing my keys, that is the story of my life."

"I missed the bus again today which is the story of my life lately and very frustrating."

used to say that one is used to something bad happening to one, due to having bad luck

"Just my luck! It started raining."

"Just my luck! It started raining right when I left the house without my umbrella."

said after a positive statement to hypothetically assure the continuation of good luck

"Knock on wood for good luck, please."

"Knock on wood for good luck, please, because I need all the luck I can get."

something that solely depends on chance

"Getting a good partner is just the luck of the draw."

"Getting the best hotel room was just the luck of the draw for us."

to try to do or achieve something knowing that one might not succeed

"We took pot luck and ate at a random cafe."

"We did not have a reservation so we decided to take pot luck at the busy restaurant."

to do something by solely relying on one's instincts, due to a lack of proper knowledge or experience

"I will fly by the seat of my pants."

"With no prior experience, the new manager had to fly by the seat of his pants during the crisis."

to experience some luck

"I finally caught a break and got hired."

"The struggling actor finally caught a break when a famous director offered him a role."

to have great success with something, particularly something that brings one a lot of money

"They struck gold."

"The small startup company truly struck gold with its innovative new product."