Luck

have luck

So far I haven’t had any luck finding a job. I haven’t had one interview yet.

bring luck

She wears some kind of charm around her neck. She thinks it’ll bring her luck.

believe luck

I could hardly believe my luck when I found my wallet still lying in the middle of the road where I dropped it.

run out of luck

The prisoner evaded police for four days, but he eventually ran out of luck when he was caught on video stealing food from a small store.

trust luck

However hard you prepare for an exam, you still have to trust to luck to a certain extent. Last year I was in luck when one of the essay title I had prepared came up in the final examination.

wish luck

At my leaving party my boss shook my hand and wished me luck in my new career.

hold luck

The team are playing well and if their luck holds they could win the cup and the championship.

push luck

You didn’t get caught last time, but don’t push your luck! You might not be so lucky next time.

bad luck

Superstitious people believe that if you walk under a ladder, it brings you bad luck.

good luck

Good luck with your driving test tomorrow!

hard luck

you say ‘Oh, hard luck’ to somebody to express sympathy with them when something unlucky has happened to them.

sheer luck

It was sheer luck that we met. I wasn’t even supposed to be in London that day.

better luck

Better luck next time! I’m sure with a little extra practice you’ll be able to beat him.

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You’re in luck! We’ve got one pair of these shoes left in your size in black.

I always wear this cross round my neck for luck.

I’m sorry, you seem to be out of luck. We don’t have this model in stock at the moment.

This is your lucky day! We’ve just had a cancellation. The dentist can see you this morning.

By a stroke of luck someone was passing, heard my mother shouting for help and called the police.

I had a run of luck at the casino last night, nut in the end I lost more than I won.

Come on, this isn’t a difficult climb. We’ll be back in time for dinner with a bit of luck.

 

Notes

• In ‘you say ‘Oh, hard luck’ to somebody to express sympathy with them when something unlucky has happened to them.’, ‘bad’ or ‘tough’ luck are also possible.

In ‘It was sheer luck that we met. I wasn’t even supposed to be in London that day.’, ‘pure luck’ is also possible.

• Note how we ask if somebody has been successful:

Have you had any luck with your job-hunting?

Any lick with your flat-hunting?

• If you’re ‘down on your luck’, you are in need of money after a period of bad luck:

I bought the car from a friend who was down on his luck.

• We often reassure people that life will get better:

Perhaps you luck will change. You never know!

• When we say ‘Some people have all the luck!’, we wish we had what they had:

I’ve just won 10,000$ on the lottery!

>some people have all the luck.