luck, n.
Forms:
lME luk, lME–16 lucke, lME– luck, 15 locke, 15 lukke, 16 loock (Eng. regional (Leics.)); also Sc. pre-17 lwkt, pre-17 17 luke, pre-17 19– luk, 19– lukk (Shetland), 19– lux (plural). (Show Less)
Origin: A borrowing from Dutch. Etymons: Dutch luc, Middle Low German lücke.
Etymology: < (i) Middle Dutch luc (Dutch luk , now rare and regional) or its cognate (ii) Middle Low German lücke, cognate with the prefixed forms (compare y- prefix) Middle Dutch gelucke (Dutch geluk), Middle Low German gelücke, Middle High German gelücke (German Glück); further etymology unknown. Compare also ( < Middle Low German) Old Frisian lukk, Old Icelandic (late) lukka, lykka, Old Swedish lukka, lykka (Swedish lycka), Old Danish lukkæ, lykkæ (Danish lykke).
Several suggestions have been made for the origin of the underlying Germanic base, but are no longer commonly accepted. A connection of the noun with Middle High German gelingen (impersonal) to be successful (German gelingen ; itself without parallels and of uncertain origin) would pose morphological problems. A connection with the base of louk v.1 (or perhaps even louk v.2) seems more likely on formal grounds, but poses semantic problems.
†1. Gain, profit, financial advantage. Obs. rare. N.E.D. (1903) places quot. ?a1475 at sense 3a but the variant reading lukre and the Latin gloss suggest that this is the intended sense. Cf. lucre n. 1 and winning n.1 2b.
?a1475 Promptorium Parvulorum
(Winch.)
271
Luk [1440 Harl. lukre], or wynnyng, lucrum.
?a1475—?a1475(Hide quotations)
2. a. The chance occurrence of situations or events either favourable or unfavourable to a person's interests; the sum of chance events affecting (favourably or unfavourably) a person's interests or circumstances; a person's apparent tendency to have good or ill fortune.Frequently with preceding word specifying the type of luck, as bad luck, good luck, hard luck, ill luck, potluck, rotten luck, tough luck: see the first element.
c. Chance, sometimes personified, considered as a force or agent bestowing success or failure.Recorded earliest in Lady Luck n. at lady n. Compounds 2d.
a. The chance occurrence of situations or events either favourable or unfavourable to a person's interests; the sum of chance events affecting (favourably or unfavourably) a person's interests or circumstances; a person's apparent tendency to have good or ill fortune.Frequently with preceding word specifying the type of luck, as bad luck, good luck, hard luck, ill luck, potluck, rotten luck, tough luck: see the first element. When preceded by an adjective, luck can be used in interjections expressing wishes for success or commiserations for misfortune (see, e.g., bad luck int., good luck int., tough luck at tough adj. 6d); see also (the) best of luck at Phrases 1b.
1481 Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox
(1970)
15
Tho thought reynart, this is good luck [Du. ghelucke].
1528 Tyndale Obed. Christen Man f. xxvj
For ye vengeaunce of God shall accompanie them..With all misfortune & evill lucke.
1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes sig. Cc.iiiiv
And if to light on you my luck so good shall be, I shall be glad to fede on that that would haue fed on me.
1563 B. Googe Eglogs Epytaphes & Sonettes sig. C.vii
Let vs here, what lucke you haue had in loue.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler ii. 60
Wel Scholer, you must indure worse luck sometime, or you will never make a good Angler.
1738 Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 18
Yes; Tom sings well; but his Luck's naught.
1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest III. xiv. 24
I hope we shall have better luck this time.
1856 G. J. Whyte-Melville Kate Coventry xvii. 219
The Arch-croupier below, they say, arranges these matters for beginners; but the luck turns at last.
1882 ‘Ouida’ In Maremma I. ii. 41
He has got his deserts... Luck always changes.
1883 W. D. Howells Woman's Reason
(new ed.)
II. xx. 178
He bade him..get fire to light the beacon. Giffen refused. ‘No, sir; better not have any of my luck about it’.
1901 Athenæum 27 July 121/1
Our young friend enjoyed better luck than he deserved.
1946 Boys' Life Sept. 10/2
He cursed his luck steadily and volubly.
1982 J. Sullivan Only Fools & Horses
(1999)
I. 2nd Ser. Episode 3. 88
Listen Boycie, I'm telling you that my luck's changing.
2012 D. Park Light of Amsterdam vi. 111
By the very worst of luck he had found himself trapped between rabid sets of Rangers and Celtic supporters.
1481—2012(Hide quotations)
b. An instance of luck, esp. of a specified kind; an event or incident apparently brought about by chance. Now somewhat rare.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 580/2
I have a shreude chaunce or a shreude tourne, or I have an yvell lucke, il me meschiet.
1593 Queen Elizabeth I tr. Boethius De Consolatione Philosophiæ
(P.R.O.: SP 12/289)
iv. pr. vi. f. 65
Of the succession of Chaunce, of hapning Luckes.
1619 M. Drayton Barons Warres iv. xxxiv, in Poems
(rev. ed.)
56
Those euill Lucks, in numbers many are, That to thy Foot-steps doe themselues apply.
1695 Dissuasive from Cursing in R. Boyle Free Disc. against Swearing 16
All these cross and happy Lucks at Play are not rashly or designedly shuffled by a blind Hazard, but are dispensed by an All-ruling Providence.
1844 J. C. Neal Peter Ploddy & Other Oddities 127
We esteem the lucks and chances of a man, much more than we reverence the man himself.
1897 Solicitor's Jrnl. 8 May 474/1
One of the lucks of war with which they had to contend or to which they had to submit.
1921 Spectator 24 Sept. 389/1
The love-affairs and hate-affairs, lucks and ill-lucks of those who live around us.
1978 L. Kramer Faggots 73
He went from mail room to board room in lickety-split time by a combination of charm, insolence.., and good lucks.
1530—1978(Hide quotations)
c. Chance, sometimes personified, considered as a force or agent bestowing success or failure.Recorded earliest in Lady Luck n. at lady n. Compounds 2d. See also dumb luck n. at dumb adj. and n. Additions.
a1535 T. More Dauy the Dycer in Wks.
(1557)
II. 1433
Long was I lady Lucke your seruing man.
1576 A. Fleming tr. Cicero in Panoplie Epist. 83
One refuge yet remaineth, that is patiently to suffer what so euer lucke allotteth.
1630 W. Davenant Cruell Brother i. i. sig. B2
Report is then become a Bawde to Luck; Whom Fortune doth enrich, Fame doth flatter.
1750 Country Jrnl. 14 July 2/1
We pursue them whilst the Luck is on our Side.
1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang
Martingale, at play, to double stakes constantly, until luck taking one turn only, repays the adventurer all.
1881 W. A. Stearns & E. Coues New Eng. Bird Life 30
The search for birds'-nests is not so much a matter of luck or accident as some suppose it to be.
1899 A. Griffiths in Fortn. Rev. Feb. 307
Luck in the great game of war is undoubtedly lord of all.
1918 National Drug Clerk May 377/2
Character is the greatest force in the world, and character—not fate or luck—controls the destinies of men.
1955 Flying 46/1
Luck was on my side. I managed to stagger through a 180 degree turn and landed after a fashion.
2015 J. Carter Warriors on Horseback xv. 139
Yes, there is a skill to falling, but ultimately it comes down to luck whether and where an injury is sustained.
a1535—2015(Hide quotations)
3. a. The chance occurrence of situations or events favourable to a person's interests; success, prosperity, or advantage apparently brought about by chance rather than through one's own actions or abilities; a person's apparent tendency to have good fortune; = good luck n. †to have no luck to : to be unfortunate in (obs.).
a. The chance occurrence of situations or events favourable to a person's interests; success, prosperity, or advantage apparently brought about by chance rather than through one's own actions or abilities; a person's apparent tendency to have good fortune; = good luck n. †to have no luck to : to be unfortunate in (obs.). beginner's luck, no luck: see the first element.
a1500 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems
(1903)
66
Wher-for, [for] lucke and good hanssell, my hert y sende you.
1579 G. Gilpin tr. P. van Marnix van Sant Aldegonde Bee Hiue of Romishe Church Ep. Ded. sig. **6
I had superficially and lightly reade ouer the saide booke, (not hauing the lucke to kepe the same long by me).
1583 C. Hollyband Campo di Fior 145
No man can have lucke alwayes at playe.
1600 T. Dekker Shomakers Holiday sig. E2
Old loue for me, I haue no lucke with new.
a1656 J. Hales Golden Remains
(1673)
i. 273
Onely Plutarch, what ever the matter is, has no luck to the Latine, and therefore I would advise you either to read him in French, or in English.
1661 R. Boyle Some Considerations Style Script. 36
A hint, which..I have since had the luck to improve sufficiently.
1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals iii. v. 53
An' we've any luck we shall see the Devon monkeyrony in all the print-shops in Bath!
1791 T. Holcroft School for Arrogance 102
Three hundreds have been lost, in piddling play. No luck for her!
1839 D. P. Thompson Green Mountain Boys iii. 45
But no luck with your rifle today?
1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt I. i. 40
Like most energetic natures, he had a strong faith in his luck.
1889 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 533/1
It is by sheer luck that I have lived for the last four years.
1920 P. G. Wodehouse Little Warrior iv. 69
Managers are just like sheep... While your luck lasts, you have to keep them off with a stick.
1966 E. Amadi Concubine xiii. 107
Any luck with your traps today?
2009 N.Y. Times 13 Dec. a31/1
He..tried to make a living as a freelance writer in London, without much luck.
a1500—2009(Hide quotations)
b. An object or (occasionally) person on which the prosperity of a family or community is believed to depend. Now hist.The most famous object of this kind is the luck of Eden Hall, a 14th-cent. oriental glass cup owned by the Musgrave family of Eden Hall, Cumbria. Eden Hall has since been demolished and the cup is now in the possession of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
1677 Will of Sir Philip Musgrave
(Cumbria Archive Service)
The Glass called ye Luck of Edenhall.
1729 Misc. Poems Several Hands 55
God prosper long from being broke, The Luck of Eden-Hall.
1842 Longfellow tr. J. L. Uhland Ballads
(ed. 3)
49
The drinking glass of crystal tall; They call it The Luck of Edenhall.
1870 B. Harte Luck of Roaring Camp & Other Sketches 14
On long summer days The Luck [sc. a baby] was usually carried to the gulch, from whence the golden store of Roaring Camp was taken.
1901 E. F. Benson Luck of Vails ii. 23
Those of your house who have possessed the Luck always seemed to think that it brought them luck.
1971 K. Thomas Relig. & Decline of Magic xx. 624
In the seventeenth century, it was unlucky..to lose one of the heirlooms or ‘lucks’, upon whose safe transmission the welfare of various noble families was thought to depend.
1997 S. Bechtel & L. R. Stains Good Luck Bk. 258
Some ‘lucks’ are not as old or renowned as the family would have us believe, but others plainly date back to the late Middle Ages.
1677—1997(Hide quotations)
†c. With of. Good fortune in obtaining a specified thing. Obs. rare.
1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting I. iv. 62
A man, whose luck of fame was derived from all the circumstances which he himself reckoned unfortunate.
1762—1762(Hide quotations)
d. Chiefly Sc. An instance of good fortune; a fortunate event or incident brought about by chance. In later use also (as a mass noun or in pl.): valuable or useful objects discarded in a dustbin, rubbish dump, etc.
1831 A. Cunningham in A. Picken Club-bk. II. 182
What a luck that I didna gang awa to see my auld leal friend of Gripantauket!
1856 J. W. Carlyle Let. 19 Aug. in Coll. Lett. T. & J. W. Carlyle
(2003)
XXXI. 178
It was a luck for me yesterday..that I had these live things to look after.
1958 C. Hanley Dancing in Streets 43
We started raking the middens somewhere near Armadale Street, in Dennistoun... We didn't find any luck.
1993 M. Sinclair Soor Plooms & Candy Balls 5
Me an' ma big pal, lookin' fur lux roon' the middens.
2008 J. Kelman Kieron Smith, Boy
(2009)
24
We looked for stuff that was good and we called it lucks. Oh did ye find any lucks?
1831—2008(Hide quotations)
†4. A sign of good or bad fortune; an omen. Obs.
1538 T. Elyot Dict.
Omen, minis, lucke, also a worde or sentence sodaynly spoken, after the which some thing hapneth to folowe according thervnto, aboue the expectation of them which herde it.
c1560 J. Bellenden tr. Livy in First Five Bks. Rom. Hist.
(1822)
v. xxv. 479
The quhilk voice being herd abroad,..the senate did think the samin to be the luck and presage of sum thing to come.
1658 H. Edmundson Fellow-traveller through City & Countrey
(new ed.)
119
That Omen or Luck is a word which signifies nothing.
1538—1658(Hide quotations)
Phrases
P1. In wishes and imprecations.See also note at sense 2a.
a. bad luck to ——: see bad luck n., adj., and int. Phrases 2.
b. (the) best of luck : expressing good wishes for the success of a person or venture.
1859 Racine
(Wisconsin)
Daily Jrnl. 28 Dec. 1/3
Here's the best of luck to a good fellow.
1881 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 775/1
Good-bye, Chloride—the best of luck!
1936 M. Lowry Let. Apr. in Sursum Corda!
(1995)
I. 157
Congratulations again on the book—& best of luck in general.
1964 O. E. Middleton Walk on Beach 242
The best of luck to you, mate!
1978 T. Willis Buckingham Palace Connection ix. 179
Over the top and the best of luck.
1982 R. Reagan Let. 28 June in Dear Americans
(2003)
68
Best of luck to you and hang in there.
2000 J. Goldman Dreamworld 44
They've eloped... Best of luck to them both.
1859—2000(Hide quotations)
c. the best of Arab (also Welsh, Scottish, etc.) luck : expressing good wishes for the success of a person or venture, usually with the ironic implication that good luck will not be forthcoming; cf. (the) best of British luck at British adj. and n. Phrases.
1966 ‘S. Harvester’ Treacherous Road xix. 183
And the best of Arab luck to you, mate.
1969 ‘A. Garve’ Boomerang iii. 132
‘Anything else?’ ‘I don't think so—Except to wish you the best of Welsh luck!’
1977 Punch 11 May 824/3
MacLaren of MacLaren..hopes to buy back some part of the land of his fathers in Perthshire; and the best of Scottish luck to him.
1985 New Scientist 29 Aug. 72/1
Well, the best of American luck, say I.
2012 Independent
(Nexis)
21 Jan. 12
And the best of Welsh luck to well-travelled Coleman.
1966—2012(Hide quotations)
P2. In expressions responding to or anticipating good or bad fortune.
a. colloq. (the) worse luck : unfortunately, regrettably; more's the pity.
1580 G. Harvey in Spenser & G. Harvey Three Proper & Wittie Lett. 35
But what sayes Daphne? Non omni dormio, worse lucke.
a1592 R. Greene Sc. Hist. Iames IV
(1598)
iv. sig. G2v
The woorse lucke Iaques, but because I am thy friend I will aduise the somewhat towards the attainement of the gallowes.
1623 J. Webster Deuils Law-case ii. sig. E1v
Pro. Hee's yet liuing. Rom. Liuing? the worse lucke.
1672 J. Lacy Dumb Lady iii. i. 30
Doct. Now woman what want you? Wife. That that no bodie can help me to, the worse luck, Sir.
1709 Mem. Signor Rozelli 267
I went up to his Chamber trembling, for fear he had miscarry'd in his Undertaking: But (the worse Luck for me) he had but too well succeeded.
1784 Greenwood Farm I. 5
Their father's dead, the worse luck for me.
1861 C. M. Yonge Young Step-mother xvii. 234
He..should see enough of him when Mr. Hope came, worse luck.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island iii. xv. 122
There are some of Flint's hands aboard; worse luck for the rest of us.
1902 A. E. W. Mason Four Feathers xxiii. 227
There are women..to whom the management of a big house, the season in London, the ordinary round of visits, are sufficient. I, worse luck, was not one of them.
1945 C. Isherwood Prater Violet 116
My directors are always resigning. All except the lousy ones, worse luck.
2014 S. May Wake up Every Day Happy xxii. 157
I haven't got a Sapphic bone in my body, worse luck.
1580—2014(Hide quotations)
b. more by luck than judgement (also design, management, etc.) and variants: used to express the opinion that a good outcome has arisen by chance rather than as a result of good planning, astuteness, etc. Also similarly more by good luck than (good) judgement and variants.
1600 B. Jonson in R. Allott Englands Parnassus 225
So Fooles we see, Oft scape their Imputation, more through luck, then wit.
1663 H. Janson Philanax Anglicus 40
Is it not now a little wonderful, that they should become High and Mighty Lords by Law? I am sure it is more by luck than cunning, that they have made themselves so.
1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 248
More by good luck, than by good guiding. Spoken when a Thing, ill managed, falls out well.
1782 C. Lee Let. 22 June in Mem. Life C. Lee
(1792)
436
Was it not for..a fortunate purchase I made, more by luck than cunning, I might have begged in the streets.
1838 Tait's Edinb. Mag. May 325/1
His grandfather, though more by good luck than good judgment certainly, sold the hunter for double the thirty pounds.
1866 Baily's Monthly Mag. Feb. 101
Some one said that the race was won more by luck than judgment.
1912 Paper Makers' Jrnl. Dec. 22/2
It was more by good luck than good planning That he became the boss of a mill.
1918 Nation
(N.Y.)
7 Sept. 255/1
The West does better, but more by luck than management.
1971 Washington Post 24 Oct. f6/1
After 10 years of booming prosperity more by luck than design, Australia is facing economic trouble.
2010 Field Feb. 109/3
More by luck than judgment, I was in the right place when Charlie made his exit and I bowled him easily.
1600—2010(Hide quotations)
c. better luck next (also another) time : expressing the hope that a person who has failed in a contest or undertaking will be more successful in the future.
1756 Prater 14 Aug. 137
Well, well, said he, better luck another time.
1832 P. Egan Bk. Sports 171/2
The conqueror, shaking hands with his fallen antagonist, wishes him better luck next time.
1855 F. W. Faber Growth in Holiness
(ed. 2)
xvi. 297
When we fall we must rise again, and go on our way, wishing ourselves..better luck another time.
1927 E. O'Neill Marco Millions i. iii. 45
Better luck next time. He'll learn!
1997 J. M. Landis et al. Heartbreak Ranch 18
The game, it is fini. Better luck another time.
2002 Electronic Gaming Monthly Feb. 28/3
Close, but no tamale. Better luck next time.
1756—2002(Hide quotations)
d. colloq. no such luck: (expressing disappointment that something has not happened or is unlikely to happen) unfortunately not. Cf. no such good luck at good luck n., int., and adj. Phrases 2b.
1775 R. Cumberland Choleric Man i. ii. 4
Dibble. Hav'n't earth'd old Surly-Boots yet? Gregory. Earth'd him! no such luck.
1875 Chem. News 3 Dec. 269/2
The above ‘sensational heading’ led one to hope..that some lucky fellow had indeed hit upon the one method for profitably extracting this important article from the atmosphere. But, alas! no such luck.
1892 R. L. Stevenson Let. 29 May
(1911)
IV. 63
All next day we hung round..hoping for the mail steamer with a menagerie on board. No such luck.
1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock iii. i. 99
‘You ever come across this Kolley Kibber?’ she asked. ‘No such luck,’ the barman said.
1974 I. Murdoch Sacred & Profane Love Machine 75
If I went to Australia and was never heard of again. Thank you very much! No such luck!
2006 Independent 28 Dec. (Extra section) 7/1
‘A circular letter from Cooper Brown! He must be in jail.’ No such luck, I'm afraid.
1775—2006(Hide quotations)
e. with (any, a little, a bit of) luck : if things go well, all being well; hopefully.
1817 Byron Let. 24 Jan.
(1976)
V. 164
I think, with luck, he will turn out a useful member of society..and the College of Physicians.
1891 Cambr. Rev. 12 Mar. 267/2
The Association Sixes have at last reached the final round, which will, with any luck, be played this week.
1920 R. Scheer Germany's High Sea Fleet ix. 124
With luck we might even succeed in attacking the enemy advancing from the Hoofden on both sides.
1937 Night & Day 8 July 8/2
The men, with any luck, will refuse to discard their grey flannels for lederhosen.
1968 J. H. White Amer. Locomotives viii. 98/1
Small strips or rods that were piled, heated, and (with luck) rolled together into homogeneous plates.
1982 P. Redmond Brookside
(Mersey TV transmission script)
Episode 2. 61
Who knows, with a bit of luck, they might even offer us an increase.
2007 G. Hurley One Under i. 11
With luck, a proper trawl would recover documentation and establish an ID.
1817—2007(Hide quotations)
f. just my luck : (expressing disappointment or pessimism) typical of my bad luck. Also just his luck, just our luck, etc. Cf. knowing my luck at Phrases 2h.
1831 L. E. Landon Romance & Reality I. xii. 102
If I were to turn undertaker, nobody would die, that I might'n't have the burying of them: it's just my luck always.
1909 J. Galsworthy Strife i. 195
Just our luck, the men finding a fanatical firebrand like Roberts for leader.
1928 E. O'Neill Strange Interlude viii. 274
The damned radio has to pick out this time to go dead!.. Just my luck!
1938 R. Finlayson Brown Man's Burden 60
Just my luck to be caught in a thunderstorm.
2002 D. Wittenborn Fierce People
(2003)
xii. 104
It would be just her luck to get pulled over on the New Jersey Turnpike.
1831—2002(Hide quotations)
g. you never know your luck: you cannot be sure that your luck will not improve; you may be lucky.
1895 Life 21 Feb. 128
(caption)
Riding Master: Wake that old thing up; you ain't going to a funeral! Pupil: Well—you never know your luck!
1898 J. D. Brayshaw Slum Silhouettes 29
Well, yer never know yer luck; an' his was 'ard enuff, Gawd knows.
1929 J. R. Fauset Plum Bun iii. 34
It looks as though there'd be plenty of chance for us. And anyway you never know your luck.
1967 ‘J. Ashford’ Forget what you Saw iii. 14
You never know your luck—one of these days we might actually set sail.
2001 C. Glazebrook Madolescents 64
You never know your luck, you might cop off with somebody.
1895—2001(Hide quotations)
h. knowing my (also his, her, etc.) luck : used (often humorously) to express pessimism about the speaker's future; cf. just my luck at Phrases 2f.
1935 Daily Ardmoreite
(Ardmore, Okla.)
28 June 6/3
Besides, knowing our luck as we do it would have been just our misfortune to have had Choatey escape from the backyard.
1972 Guardian 5 Aug. 9/2
‘Knowing my luck,’ Lee said, ‘it would explode and kill somebody.’
1997 H. Nix in S. Hawthorne et al. Car Maintenance, Explosives & Love 327
You're not contemplating jumping? she asked... No... Knowing my luck I'd freeze to death before I drowned.
2006 J. London If You could read my Mind 17
Knowing my luck, I'll get pulled over and not have my license.
1935—2006(Hide quotations)
P3. In phrases describing how someone acts in relation to good or bad fortune.
a. to try one's luck : to do something that involves risk or luck, with the hope that one will succeed; to make an attempt at something.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie
(new ed.)
ii. xi. sig. N*ij
Hearing how diuers Gentlemen of her Court had essayed..to make some delectable transpose of her Maiesties name, I would needs try my luck.
1638 R. Mayeres Trav. 26
Many Gallants here to try their luck.
1675 W. Wycherley Country-wife v. i. 96
I must be impudent, and try my luck.
1717 Way of Town 34
If you'r dispos'd to try your Luck..You cannot do't in better Company.
?1772 Midnight Rambler 35
John..assured her he would try his luck; for d—m me, adds he, I know I am as good a seaman..as any he that ever stepped between stem and stern.
1829 Sporting Mag. Oct. 403/1
We resolved to try our luck in some of the deep, dark-sheltered pools.
1873 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 736/2
I will try my luck, by heavens! and if she accepts me, be happier than I ever was in my life.
1921 Sunset Mag. Feb. 43/3
She tried her luck in a remote Alaskan settlement.
2010 T. C. Hotka West of East Coast vii. 163
Think I might try my luck out in Hollywood.
1589—2010(Hide quotations)
b. Sc. upon (also on) luck's head : on the chance that one will be successful or fortunate; by chance. Now rare (Shetland and Orkney in later use). Sc. National Dict. (at Luck) records this phrase as still in use in Shetland and Orkney in 1961.
1637 S. Rutherford Let. 15 June in Joshua Redivivus
(1664)
95
I would beleeve in the dark upon luck's head, & take my hazard of Christ's goodwill.
1679 J. Brown Life of Faith II. xvii. 240
Yea they dar adventure to take on Luck's head (as we say) and why may not the Lords people also rejoice on Lucks head, seing their King shall never be dethroned?
1741 Session Papers in Sc. Nat. Dict.
(1965)
VI. 35
[He] bid him go down Stairs and drink a Bottle of Ale upon Luck's Head.
1888 C. Mackay Dict. Lowland Sc. 255/2
Upon luck's head, by chance. ‘I got it on luck's head’, I got it by chance.
1932 A. Horsbøl tr. J. Jakobsen Etymol. Dict. Norn Lang. in Shetland II. at Lukk
To geng upo lukks head, to go at haphazard.
1637—1932(Hide quotations)
c. for luck: in order to bring good luck. Cf. one for luck n. at Phrases 4d.
1756 Prater 24 July 119
Parsons', Justices', and Farmers' Daughters in the Country, who, not finding a plentiful Crop of Admirers, gather midsummer roses, sow hemp seed, and eat dumb cake for luck.
a1797 H. Walpole Jrnl. Reign George III
(1859)
I. 7
Turned their coats inside outwards for luck.
1803 in Occas. Papers Univ. Sydney Austral. Lang. Res. Centre
(1980)
No. 18. 44
He..had ‘knocked him down and given him a topper for luck!’
1894 G. S. Layard Tennyson & Pre-Raphaelite Illustr. iv. 45
Oriana ties her kerchief round the wings of her lover's helmet, whilst he strings his bow for luck against her foot.
1954 in V. Randolph Pissing in Snow
(1976)
xv. 26
He was one of these fellows that always wears a buckskin string round his waist for luck.
2013 S. Nicholls Close your Pretty Eyes 231
I kissed the front of the envelope, for luck, and I pushed it through the letter hole.
1756—2013(Hide quotations)
d. to push (also crowd, ride, etc.) one's luck : to take a risk on the assumption that one will continue to be successful or in favour; to rely on good luck. Cf. to push one's fortune at push v. Phrases 1.
1757 tr. in London Chron. Nov. 508/3
As you know how to push your Luck, you shall break the Bank, and sweep off the young Gentleman's Money.
1768 J. Hall-Stevenson New Fable of Bees i, in Makarony Fables 38
The striker never leaves it short, Not only strikes, pushing his luck, But kicks the proudest of the court.
1868 Oriental Sporting Mag. 16 Mar. 193
I..now began to reflect inwardly on the power of luck, and how frequently I fancied I had not pressed my luck.
1887 R. C. Schenck in Standard Hoyle 125
‘To push your luck’, as many Poker players understand it, is to come in with nothing, and trust to chance to improve.
1901 G. Ade 40 Mod. Fables 268
He crowded his Luck and Parleed his Bets. Things came his way.
1975 J. Symons Three Pipe Probl. xv. 131
You ain't going to find no killer... I reckon this is some amateur riding his luck.
1995 N. Hornby High Fidelity
(1996)
xvi. 200
‘Your dad was nicer than you, though.’ ‘He was, wasn't he?’ ‘About five or six times as nice.’ ‘Don't push your luck.’ ‘Sorry.’
2012 D. Park Light of Amsterdam ii. 31
‘You phoned her again? You're pushing your luck,’ Karen said.
1757—2012(Hide quotations)
e. U.S. slang (euphem. and offensive). to change one's luck : (of a white man) to have sexual intercourse with a black woman, sometimes in the belief that this will bring good luck. Now hist. and rare.
[1893 Town Topics 31 Aug. 14/2
Gamblers' superstitions are proverbial, but everybody here has been laughing this week at a well-known manufacturer..because he was discovered in his endeavor to change his luck. Next to touching a cripple's hump the luckiest thing, according to popular belief, is to hold a conversation with a colored woman.]
1916 H. N. Cary Slang of Venery i. 43
Changing One's Luck, to have carnal knowledge of a black woman. A superstition.
?1927–8 J. Fliesler Anecdota Americana 106
Eager to ‘change his luck’ a white man approached a negress. ‘Ah charges two dollars,’ said the black whore.
1941 H. A. Smith Low Man on Totem Pole xviii. 229
I walk up and say I wanna buy a red dress for a nigger lady. I suppose they all think I been out changin' my luck.
1961 C. B. Himes Pinktoes 59
Mamie's father..conceived her accidentally while changing his luck one day with the colored maid in the whorehouse.
2001 W. A. Kelly My Father was Bootlegger 203
The older guys in my neighborhood would say ‘I'm gone to change my luck’. This meant they were going to Chalfonte Alley to fuck a black girl.
1916—2001(Hide quotations)
P4. In noun phrases.
a.
devil's luck n. (also more fully devil's own luck) uncannily good luck; (sometimes also) very bad luck.
1590 R. Harvey Theol. Disc. Lamb of God 157
If the holy plaintifs might haue the diuels lucke, and by some sinister meanes obtaine their request.
1639 T. Bancroft Two Bks. Epigrammes & Epit. ii. sig. G4v
The Devills child, the Devills lucke.
1743 J. Henley Why how now, Gossip Pope?
(ed. 2)
3
That you who are so good a Believer should partake the Devil's Luck, who suffers Hell while he damns the World.
1789 G. Moultrie False & True i. iii. 10
l have had the devil's own luck in getting to this same Naples.
1843 Graham's Mag. Mar. 179/1
The fellow always had the eye of a hawk for a pretty wench, and the devil's own luck in winning them, too.
1884 D. Boucicault Shaughraun i. iv. 20
Well, as the divil's luck would have it, there was only..a tailor's thimble, an' they couldn't get it full.
1907 G. B. Shaw John Bull's Other Island iv. 82
He has the divil's own luck, that Englishman, annyway; for when they picked him up he hadnt a scratch on him.
2014 Liverpool Echo
(Nexis)
17 May 26
Some bad people have had the Devil's own luck.
1590—2014(Hide quotations)
†b.
luck in a bag n. Obs. (a) good luck; an unlikely or unexpected piece of good luck; (b) a bag containing a miscellaneous assortment of small prizes, from which players of a game at a fair, fête, etc., pay a small sum to pull a prize at random; cf. lucky bag n. 1a.
1649 P. Lightfoot Battell with Waspes Nest 405
It was luck in a bag then, that he that is so direct in all his gospel from end to end, as never to change one story out of its proper time and place, should do it here to serve Mr. Heming's turn so pat.
1673 F. Kirkman Unlucky Citizen xvi. 294
He had bought for five pounds a parcel of Diamons worth above 20000 l...here was luck in a Bag, if they could but keep it.
1701 Walk to Smith-field xx. 273
The spectators were shuffled together like little boxes in a sharper's Luck-in-a-bag.
1711 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 8 Sept.
(1948)
I. 354
You have luck indeed; and luck in a bag. What a Devil is that eight shilling tea-kettle copper, or tin japanned? It is like your Irish politeness, raffling for tea-kettles.
1822 Scott Fortunes of Nigel I. iv. 75
Ye ken weel how to use that jilting quean, Dame Fortune... and that is what I ca' having luck in a bag.
1850 R. Hort Penelope Wedgebone i. 9
Mr. Wedgebone, having thrown his silk handkerchief over his head, filled his glass, and proposed, as the first toast—‘Luck in a bag, and shake it out when you want it.’
1649—1850(Hide quotations)
c.
run of luck n. orig. Gambling a series of (esp. favourable) outcomes or occurrences attributed to luck or chance; (also) a series of occurrences or outcomes of a specified kind, as a run of good luck, a run of bad luck, etc.
1722 Weekly Jrnl. 20 Jan. 984/1
Statesmen..have had such a Run of Luck in some Kingdoms, as now and then to strip a whole Nation.
1780 E. Beetham Moral Lect. on Heads 26
There is not so fluctuating a state of life as that of a man of play... Sometimes, elated with an amazing run of luck, he shines in all the gaiety of dress, and revels in all the luxuries of life.
1848 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 294/2
A space of nearly two years, during which time he had a most uninterrupted run of good luck.
1885 Amer. Machinist 25 Apr. 4/1
The curious run of bad luck that some locomotives have.
1901 G. Ade 40 Mod. Fables 156
Adams had a Run of Luck and he crowded it.
1953 A. L. Marriott Hell on Horses & Women ix. 110
They hit a run of hard luck, too, after they had been on the place a few years.
2005 Irish Times 2 Sept. a5/1
The company indicated that its poor run of luck continued during the summer.
1722—2005(Hide quotations)
d.
one for luck n. an extra or supplementary action, object, etc.; (sometimes) spec. a supplementary, superfluous, or final act of violence; cf. for luck at Phrases 3c.
1812 Pancratia ii. 347
Crib smartly returned right and left on the head, and one for luck on the body.
1855 W. Hurton Doomed Ship xiv. 62
Jim drove his hatchet into the bear's skull, with the polite remark,—‘That's one for luck!’
1881 St. Nicholas Mag. Apr. 474/1
Patsy selected thirteen that he thought would do—‘a dozen, and one for luck.’
1914 Bookman June 425/2
He was planning to swat the ruler one for luck, and grab the army and the treasury.
1973 New Scientist 13 Dec. 799/3
He will have to sign six receipts: one for the headmaster, one for the district, one for the regency, one for the province, one for Jakarta, and one for luck.
2005 E. Morrison Last Bk. you Read 212
I light up, take a huge pull of the thing, hold it, then one for luck and hand it to her.
1812—2005(Hide quotations)
e.
seven years' bad luck n. (also seven years' ill luck) a period of bad luck superstitiously believed to be the consequence of breaking a mirror or (occasionally) of another action or incident.
1813 Scourge July 461
Poor Caroline Cleopatra Constantia had had the misfortune to break a looking glass, which foreboded seven years ill-luck.
1882 Northwestern Miller 6 Jan. 485/3
Seven years' bad luck to smash a looking glass, you know.
1941 Pop. Sci. Jan. 120/2
(caption)
Nobody can get seven years' bad luck by breaking the mirror below. It is made of sheet steel.
1983 J. Y. Glimm Flatlanders & Ridgerunners 151
If you kill kittens, you'll have seven years' bad luck.
2014 Sunday Independent
(Nexis)
13 Apr. (Features section) 2
We should risk seven years bad luck and break all the mirrors in the house.
1813—2014(Hide quotations)
f.
luck of the draw n. the element of luck or chance governing the outcome of a lottery (lottery n. 2), esp. one relating to a sporting event; (hence) a matter of chance; an outcome which cannot be controlled or predicted.
1886 Manch. Guardian 1 Sept. 5/6
The luck of the draw reserved the chief excitement for to-morrow.
1912 E. Brentwood Hector Graeme i. 2
‘Most provoking you should have the worst place for this drive, Mr. Graeme’..‘Don't you worry about that, Miss Caldwell..it's the luck of the draw.’
1956 Princeton Alumni Weekly 7 Dec. 13/2
A man is angry because he's been invited to a Seminar which turns out badly—the luck of the draw.
1973 ‘H. Howard’ Highway to Murder iii. 37
Some say first impressions are best. Mine have been wrong as often as they've been right, so I guess it's the luck of the draw.
2000 J. O'Farrell in N. Hornby Speaking with Angel 209
I suppose it's just the luck of the draw if your particular talent is in vogue during your lifetime.
1886—2000(Hide quotations)
P5. In phrases describing how lucky or unlucky someone is.
a. to have all the luck : to have more good fortune or success than is considered likely or fair. Often in some people have all the luck.
1680 Politick Whore ii, in Muse New-Market 49
Mock. He'll go to hanging as soon. Sir. Cor. No, no; we loving souls have all the luck.
1778 F. Burney Evelina II. xv. 124
Loud laughs proceeded from every mouth, and two or three said, ‘Willoughby has all the luck!’
1866 Bentley's Misc. 1 Jan. 44
Hang it! those big fellows have all the luck; she's the prettiest woman I ever saw in this hole.
1896 Pick-me-up 23 May 118/1
Three brand-new babies in the house, and the happy father was thousands of miles away. Really, some men seem to have all the luck.
1947 P. Wentworth Wicked Uncle ii. 11
‘Some people have all the luck,’ said Miss Lane in a heartfelt manner.
1992 J. Critchley Floating Voter
(BNC)
74
A bloke had been given the job of presiding over England's most famous girls' school... Some people have all the luck.
2005 C. Burke Lee Miller i. i. 9
John..formed the opinion that girls had all the luck.
1680—2005(Hide quotations)
b.
(a) out of luck: having bad luck, or no longer having good luck; experiencing, or about to experience, misfortune.See also shit out of luck at shit n. and adj. Phrases 5.
1740 C. Cibber Apol. Life C. Cibber xiii. 231
He had, lately, been out of Luck, in backing his old Master.
1788 J. Wolcot Sir J. Banks & Emperor of Morocco 20
Quite out of breath, and out of luck.
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling vi. 203
Like a dissipated house-fly out of luck.
1919 Outing Mar. 317/1
If the flyer develops engine trouble over a mountain range or a dense forest, he's out of luck.
2002 Guardian 23 Nov. f12/3
Shareholders waiting for a rapid turnaround in performance have been out of luck.
1740—2002(Hide quotations)
(b) in luck: having good luck; enjoying, or about to enjoy, good fortune.
1752 H. Fielding Amelia III. ix. vii. 280
I won four Rubbers together last Night; and betted the Things, and won almost every Bet. I am in Luck.
1773 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 611
The rogue was in luck—a simple perforation, the surgeon called it.
1830 F. Marryat King's Own II. i. 5
‘Sure your honour's in luck’..replied Barney, grinning, and backing out of the room.
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. viii. 200
By Jove, Flashey, your young friend's in luck.
1900 J. Conrad Lord Jim xxvi. 279
I was in luck when I tumbled amongst them.
1939 G. S. Kaufman & C. C. Hart Man who came to Dinner ii. 133
We're in luck, Lorraine. You can get a plane out of Toledo at ten-three.
2008 New Yorker 17 Nov. 36/3
If your home decoration tastes run to..Scandinavian design, you're in luck.
1752—2008(Hide quotations)
c. down on one's luck and variants: having bad luck; experiencing (esp. financial) misfortune; (in early use) despondent because of this.
1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang 70
A man who is in the mumps by reason of his losses, is said to be down upon his luck.
1832 P. Egan Bk. Sports 143/1
Seeing me down on my luck they cry ‘blow me, We never again wish to look at his mug.’
1873 C. M. Davies Unorthodox London 351
A clever rogue momentarily down on his luck.
1884 A. Jessopp in 19th Cent. Mar. 402
Labour is scarce and he is down in his luck.
1926 Amer. Mercury Feb. 237/2
They are down in their luck if at least half of the cabbaged boodle doesn't find its way into their pockets.
1961 S. Dance in World Duke Ellington
(1970)
249
A crude, proud little girl, kind of down on her luck.
2010 N.Y. Times 7 Sept. a12/1
Gathered around was a motley crew of people who were down on their luck.
1823—2010(Hide quotations)
d.
(a) one's luck is in : one is having good luck; one is enjoying, or about to enjoy, good fortune.
1860 J. C. Stretton Mr. & Mrs. Asheton II. xvii. 208
Now that his luck was in, it would be folly not to take advantage thereof.
1873 W. S. Hayward Lord Scatterbrain
(new ed.)
xxxvi. 173
Then he proposed to increase the bets, and I, feeling that my luck was in, made no difficulty.
1912 ‘Saki’ Chron. Clovis 187
Her fellow-gamblers were always ready to entertain her..when their luck was in.
1963 A. Smith Throw out Two Hands vii. 79
If our luck was in we might hit Madagascar.
1999 T. Etchells Endland Stories 17
He found a beautiful woman asleep in a bed. Shane thought his luck was in.
1860—1999(Hide quotations)
(b) one's luck is out : one is having bad luck, or no longer having good luck; one is experiencing, or about to experience, misfortune.
1867 J. Greenwood Humphrey Dyot I. xii. 168
In whatever direction he turned, his luck was out.
1896 J. Boundelle-Burton In Day of Adversity xxxi. 268
No such chance, mon ami, our luck is out.
a1930 D. H. Lawrence Mod. Lover
(1934)
234
Gilbert at her side took step after step, and thought to himself his luck was out as regards women.
2001 Guardian 28 July a18/5
Even when his luck was out, Gough showed bags of commitment.
1867—2001(Hide quotations)
P6. to be bad luck: see bad luck n., adj., and int. Phrases 1; to drink good luck: see good luck n., int., and adj. Phrases 1; to be good luck: see good luck n., int., and adj. Phrases 3; an ounce of good luck is worth a pound of wisdom: see good luck n., int., and adj. Phrases 4; as luck would have it: see have v. Phrases 1c; the luck of the Irish: see Irish adj. and n. Phrases; to run for luck: see run v. Phrases 3f; to strike a person luck: see strike v. 69b; stroke of luck: see stroke n.1 15b; on the tinny luck: see tinny adj. 4.
Compounds
luck money n. (in Britain and Ireland) a small sum of money which, by tradition, is returned by the seller to the buyer after the sale of grain or livestock; = luck penny n.
1820 Observer 24 Sept. 2/5
The prisoner inspected the beast anew, and expressed his willingness to give the price required, provided deponent allowed him 5s. a head ‘luck money’.
1877 Notes & Queries 5th Ser. 7 488
In all agricultural dealings connected with cattle or corn it is customary when receiving payments to return a small sum to the customer, which is termed ‘luck money’.
1898 Daily News 17 Aug. 2/7
The butchers assert that luck money was customarily granted in Lincoln until the auction system was started.
1997 K. O'Riordan Boy in Moon ix. 171
Jeremiah struck a deal on his own beasts and the luck money was settled with a pat to Brian's head.
1820—1997(Hide quotations)
luck penny n. (a) (in Britain and Ireland) a small sum of money which, by tradition, is returned by the seller to the buyer after the sale of grain or livestock; = luck money n.; (b) a piece of money given or kept for good luck.
1703 in A. W. C. Hallen Acct. Bk. Sir J. Foulis
(1894)
319
To tomsone a luck-pennie.
1824 M. R. Mitford Our Village I. 262
All the savings of a month, the hoarded halfpence, the new farthings, the very luck-penny, go off in fumo on that night.
1952 Bulletin 11 Sept.
When ye buy a beast and gie a good price for it, he'll gie ye a poun, for you ain pocket—that's the luck penny.
2008 J. Quinn Goodnight Ballivor xvi. 81
Paddy bravely suggested a ‘luck penny’, as would be the custom in cattle dealing.
1703—2008(Hide quotations)
† luck sign n. Obs. rare an omen, an augury.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxxiii. 621
He tooke a Lucksigne at the sight of a Lyonesse [Fr. Il prend augure d'vne Lyonne].
1896 Stud. Educ. 1 138
A most encouraging thing..is the singularly open spirit of the child in regard to his luck signs.
1587—1896(Hide quotations)
† luck stroken adj. Obs. rare (perhaps) having received a small amount of money.
1597 Bp. J. Hall Virgidemiarum: 1st 3 Bks. ii. v. 40
Go take possession of the Church-porch-doore: And ring thy bels: lucke stroken in thy fist: The Parsonage is thine, or ere thou wist.
1597—1597(Hide quotations)