snowball's chance in hell

snowball's chance in hell

English

Pronunciation

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Noun

a snowball's chance in hell

1. (idiomatic, informal, slang, adynaton, hyperbolic) Little (if any) likelihood of occurrence or success.

   That small boat has a snowball's chance in hell of surviving the hurricane.

Usage notes

Often, the expression is used in the negative for even more emphasis (implying that the referent has even less chance of success than a snowball in hell because the heat would melt it near-immediately).

That small boat doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of surviving the hurricane.

Translations

Little or no likelihood of occurrence or success

Chinese: Mandarin: 希望 (zh)渺茫 (zh) Italian: alle calende greche, quando gli asini voleranno, mai (it) Polish: zobaczyć jak świnia niebo Swedish: när helvetet fryser till is (sv)

See also

• a cat in hell's chance
• a cold day in Hell
• a snowflake's chance in hell
• first of never
• when Hell freezes over
• when pigs fly