snowball's chance in hell

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Noun

a snowball's chance in hell

1. (idiomatic, informal, slang, adynaton, hyperbolic) Little to no 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).

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)

• Italian: alle calende greche, quando gli asini voleranno, mai (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: zobaczyć jak świnia niebo
• Swedish: när helvetet fryser till is

See also

• a cold day in Hell
• first of never
• when Hell freezes over
• when pigs fly