snowball's chance
No hope whatsoever
A snowball's chance, short for "a snowball's chance in hell," means virtually no chance at all—the probability of a snowball surviving hellfire.
The phrase emphasizes near-impossibility: He doesn't have a snowball's chance of winning that contract.
Sometimes used with ironic hope: There's a snowball's chance they'll agree, but let's try anyway.
- unlikelyNot apt to happen
- when pigs flyExpressing utter impossibility
- long shotUnlikely to succeed
- against all oddsDespite extreme improbability
- impossibleIncapable of occurring
slim to none · inconceivable · pie in the sky · wishful thinking · over my dead body · melting point · futile · fool's errand · doomed · dead in the water · hopeless · needle in a haystack · icicle · hailstorm · blizzard · lost cause · frostbite · pipe dream
- long shotslong shot, longshot, long odds, dark horse, underdog
snowball's chancecertainty
Total absence of doubt
sure thing · foregone conclusion · slam dunk · guarantee · lock
snowball's chancein the bag
Certain to succeed
money in the bank · sure as shooting · lead-pipe cinch · can't miss · written in stone
snowball, snow, ball, snowy, snows, snowed, snowfall, snowflake, snowman