fate

*sure as God made little green apples and *sure as eggs is eggs; *sure as fate; *sure as I'm stand-ing here; *sure as you live

Rur. absolutely certain. (*Also: as ~.) I'm as sure as God made little green apples that he's the one. I'm right, as sure as you live!

See also: apple, god, green, little, made, sure

someone's fate is sealed

Fig. the destiny of somene has been determined. When the driver finally saw that the bridge was out, he knew his fate was sealed.

See also: seal

fate worse than death

Fig. a terrible fate. (Usually an exaggeration.) Having to sit through one of his lectures is a fate worse than death.

See also: death, worse

leave one to one's fate

to abandon someone to whatever may happen—possibly death or some other unpleasant event. We couldn't rescue the miners and were forced to leave them to their fate. Please don't try to help. Just go away and leave me to my fate.

See also: leave, one

seal someone's fate

Fig. to determine finally the fate of someone. His lying and cheating sealed his fate. He was convicted and sent to prison.

See also: seal

twist of fate and turn of fate

Fig. a fateful event; an unanticipated change in a sequence of events. A strange turn of fate brought Fred and his ex-wife together at a New Year's Eve party in Queens.

See also: twist

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be a fate worse than death  (humorous)

to be the worst thing that can happen to you When you're 16, an evening at home with your parents is a fate worse than death.

See seal fate, tempt fate

See also: death, worse

seal somebody's fate

if an event seals someone's fate, they are certain to fail or to have an unpleasant experience in the future His father's illness sealed his fate - Sam gave up his hopes of a college education and stayed home to run the family business.

See also: seal

tempt fate/providence 

1. to do something which involves a risk and may cause something unpleasant to happen I always feel it's tempting fate to leave the house without an umbrella.

2. to cause bad luck for yourself by talking too confidently about a situation It's probably tempting fate to say so, but I haven't had a cold all year.

See also: tempt

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a fate worse than death

a very bad or unpleasant experience She felt that having to move to a small town was a fate worse than death.

Usage notes: often used in a humorous way to describe something that is not too serious: Spending a day with my aunt would be a fate worse than death.

See also: death, worse

seal somebody's/something's fate also seal the fate of somebody/something

to decide the future of someone or something His father's illness sealed his fate, making it impossible for him to go to college. The election of Abraham Lincoln sealed the fate of slavery.

Usage notes: usually refers to an unsuccessful or unpleasant future

See also: seal

tempt fate

to take a foolish risk because you are depending too much on luck She didn't want to tempt fate by turning down the job and hoping something better would be offered.

See also: tempt