bad bet
Likely losing proposition
A bad bet is a choice or course of action unlikely to succeed or pay off.
The phrase extends from gambling to any risky decision with poor odds: Investing in that company was a bad bet.
Someone described as a bad bet is unreliable or unlikely to deliver what's expected: He's a bad bet for a long-term relationship.
- gambleStake on uncertain outcome
- riskPossibility of harm
- long shotUnlikely to succeed
- longshotUnlikely to succeed
- wagerStake on uncertainty
odds · against the odds · foolish · reckless · fool's errand · sucker · casino · losing · dice · high stakes · stakes · blunder · mistake · doomed · lost cause · hopeless · folly · chance
- economic follyspeculation, bubble, mania, bust, crash
- lossmakersmoney pit, failed startup, writeoff, loser, bust
- failuresfailure, failures, flop, flops, bust
- foolishnessfoolishness, silliness, foolish, stupid, folly
- mistakesmistake, mistakes, slip, error, errors
- financial failuresbankruptcy, insolvency, foreclosure, liquidation, default