snowball's chance in hell

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

a snowball's chance in hell

1. (informal, hyperbolic, idiomatic) 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) (xīwàng)渺茫 (zh) (miǎománg)

• Georgian: არავითარი შანსი (aravitari šansi), არანაირი შანსი (aranairi šansi)
• Italian: alle calende greche, quando gli asini voleranno, mai (it)
• 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
• snowball's chance in heck
• Chinaman's chance
• first of never
• when Hell freezes over
• when pigs fly