have the cards stacked against you
to be unlikely to succeed
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Young Malcolm Little was told by his parents that he could be anything he wanted to be, but as a black boy in America in the 1930s, he quickly learns the CARDS ARE STACKED against him.
(New York Daily News)
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He said he felt the CARDS WERE STACKED against foreign companies in China.
(Public Radio International)
(New York Daily News)
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He said he felt the CARDS WERE STACKED against foreign companies in China.
(Public Radio International)
Did you
know?
have the cards stacked against you
idiom
- to be very unlikely to succeed because you are not in an good position
(Cambridge Dictionary)
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The term "cards are stacked" originated in gambling, where to stack the cards or stack the deck means to arrange cards secretly and dishonestly in one's own favour or against one's opponent. For this reason the expression is used to either indicate that someone is at a disadvantage (to have the cards stacked against you) or has the advantage, as this passage from a news article illustrates:
"Until now, the cards were stacked in the company's favour."
The idea that someone is at an advantage or disadvantage is expressed in several other card playing phrases:
- to be dealt a bad hand (He was dealt a bad hand from the time he was born)
- have an ace/card up your sleeve (He often has an ace up his sleeve during contract negotiations)
- to hold all the cards/trumps (The company knew that the workers union was holding all the cards)
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SYNONYMS
have the odds stacked against you, have the deck stacked against you, be at a disadvantage, be in a poor position
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The cards are already stacked against people in undeveloped countries."
idiom
- to be very unlikely to succeed because you are not in an good position
(Cambridge Dictionary)
---
The term "cards are stacked" originated in gambling, where to stack the cards or stack the deck means to arrange cards secretly and dishonestly in one's own favour or against one's opponent. For this reason the expression is used to either indicate that someone is at a disadvantage (to have the cards stacked against you) or has the advantage, as this passage from a news article illustrates:
"Until now, the cards were stacked in the company's favour."
The idea that someone is at an advantage or disadvantage is expressed in several other card playing phrases:
- to be dealt a bad hand (He was dealt a bad hand from the time he was born)
- have an ace/card up your sleeve (He often has an ace up his sleeve during contract negotiations)
- to hold all the cards/trumps (The company knew that the workers union was holding all the cards)
---
SYNONYMS
have the odds stacked against you, have the deck stacked against you, be at a disadvantage, be in a poor position
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The cards are already stacked against people in undeveloped countries."
