fat chance

fat chance

Said of something that is unlikely to happen. A: "Maybe the teacher will let us out of class early today." B: "Ha! Fat chance."

See also: chance, fat

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

fat chance

Fig. very little likelihood. Fat chance he has of getting a promotion. You think she'll lend you the money? Fat chance!

See also: chance, fat

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

fat chance

Very little or no possibility, as in A fact chance he has of coming in first, or You think they'll get married? Fat chance! A related expression is a fat lot, meaning "very little or none at all," as in A fat lot of good it will do her. The first of these slangy sarcastic usages dates from the early 1900s, the second from the 1890s.

See also: chance, fat

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fat chance

INFORMAL

COMMON People say fat chance to show that they do not think that something will happen. There's fat chance the course of true love will run smoothly. He wants to be a basketball star, but at 5' 6'' there's fat chance of that happening.

See also: chance, fat

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

(a) ˈfat chance (of something/doing something)

(spoken) used when you think that there is no possibility of something happening: He said he’d give me a job if I passed my exam with a grade A. A fat chance I have of that! ♢ ‘Do you think she’ll lend me the money?’ ‘Fat chance.’

See also: chance, fat

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

fat chance

n. a very poor chance. (Sarcastic.) Fat chance I’ll ever get a new car.

See also: chance, fat

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

fat chance

Slang

Very little or no chance.

See also: chance, fat

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fat chance

Practically no chance at all. Although fat in this context means “good,” the term is always used ironically to mean hardly any opportunity. A slangy Americanism of the twentieth century, it was used by P. G. Wodehouse in Laughing Gas: “A fat chance, of course. I should have known his psychology better.” For synonyms, see Chinaman’s chance; snowball’s chance.

See also: chance, fat

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