Idioms related to...

Luck
Exercise 1: Read the example sentences below, and try to guess the meaning of the phrases.

the luck of the draw third time lucky

You can’t choose who you are going to fight against in I’ve failed my driving test twice, but I’m hoping it will
the competition; it’s the luck of the draw. be a case of third time lucky tomorrow.

Murphy’s law as luck would have it

Chloe: I waited patiently for the train for over an hour,
but as soon as I went to the toilet, it arrived and
I had to wait another 2 hours for the next one.
Mike: That’s Murphy’s law for you!
a lucky streak
We’re on a lucky streak. We’ve won the last six games
in a row. I hope it doesn’t end soon.
I had forgotten my wallet, so I had no bus fare and
was miles from home, but as luck would have it, I
bumped into Carla and she gave me a lift home.
push one’s luck
Matt: Thanks for lending me the car dad. Any chance
you could give me money for petrol?
Greg: Don’t push your luck!

a blessing in disguise beginner’s luck

Anna: If I’d got the job in Google, I wouldn’t have met Juan: She’d never played poker before, but she won a
my husband while working for Microsoft. fortune. She’s brilliant.
Julie: Yeah, it was a blessing in disguise. Susie: Ah, it was just beginner's luck I reckon.

Exercise 2: Match the phrases in bold above to the correct definition below.
1. ______________________ = when you succeed or win the first time you try/play something.
2. ______________________ = the result of something is purely chance and you have no control over it.
3. ______________________ = when you are successful the third time you try to do something.
4. ______________________ = when you win or succeed several times consecutively, believing it’s luck.
5. ______________________ = used to describe an unexpected but lucky situation or outcome.
6. ______________________ = sth that seems bad at first but results in sth good happening later.
7. ______________________ = adage/universal law which states that if something can go wrong, it will.
8. ______________________ = try to make too much of an opportunity/risk your current good fortune.

Exercise 3: Let’s practise!

Work with your partner and write three or four mini dialogues using some of the expressions you have
learnt. See the example below:

A: The weather had been great all week, but on the day of the
wedding, it poured down. Typical!
B: What a pity. That’s Murphy’s law for you!

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