not a snowball's chance in hell

not a snowball's chance in hell

Not any possibility, chance, or likelihood whatsoever. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that he would win an election in this part of the state. A: "Hey, Dad, do you think I could borrow the car for the weekend?" B: "Ha! Not a snowball's chance in hell!"

See also: chance, hell, not

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

snowball's chance in hell, no more than/not a

No chance at all. The hell in question, of course, is the fabulously hot place of tradition. This term appears to have replaced the earlier no more chance than a cat in hell without claws, an eighteenth-century locution that, according to Grose’s Dictionary, was applied to a person quarreling with or fighting against a much stronger opponent. The current cliché comes from late nineteenth-century America; in Britain and other English-speaking countries it is sometimes put as a snowflake’s chance in hell. See also Chinaman's chance.

See also: chance, more, no, not

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