not a ghost of a chance

ghost of a chance

A slight but unlikely possibility. After I heard that a Harvard graduate applied for the same job I did, I knew that I didn't have a ghost of a chance of getting hired. Even though he knows he only has a ghost of a chance of winning the lottery, he still buys tickets every week. If I'm up against the CEO's daughter, I don't have a ghost of a chance of getting the promotion, do I?

See also: chance, ghost, of

not a ghost of a chance

Not any chance whatsoever. After I heard that a Harvard graduate applied for the same job I did, I knew there wasn't a ghost of a chance that I'd get it. A: "Do you think the boss might cover our expenses during the trip?" B: "Ha! There won't be a ghost of a chance of that happening!"

See also: chance, ghost, not, of

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

ghost of a chance

even the slightest chance. (Usually negative.) She can't do it. She doesn't have a ghost of a chance. There is just a ghost of a chance that I'll be there on time.

See also: chance, ghost, of

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

not a ghost of a chance

Not the least likelihood. This term, which uses ghost in the sense of an insubstantial shadow, dates from the nineteenth century. In print it appeared in Thomas Hughes’s Tom Brown’s School Days (1857): “Williams hadn’t the ghost of a chance with Tom at wrestling.” See also not a hope in hell; Chinaman's chance.

See also: chance, ghost, not, of

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer