I. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
chance...luck
▪
We decided not to chance our luck in the storm.
good luck
▪
I need a bit of good luck .
piece of luck/good fortune
▪
It really was an extraordinary piece of luck.
pot luck
▪
We hadn’t booked a hotel so we had to take pot luck.
pure chance/luck
▪
He had discovered the truth by pure chance.
rotten luck
▪
What rotten luck !
run of good/bad luck
▪
Losing my job was the start of a run of bad luck that year.
the best of luck
▪
We wish him the best of luck with this venture.
trust to luck
▪
I’ll just have to trust to luck that it works out okay.
weather/luck holds (out) (= continues to be good )
▪
If our luck holds, we could reach the final.
wished...luck
▪
He shook my hand and wished me luck .
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
bad
▪
You're a bad agent and you're worse luck .
▪
They believe it is bad luck .
▪
Unfortunately, the gents had bad luck .
▪
About their men and about their bad luck in having been born female.
▪
At 2-1 up, Team Cotswold played it steady and Chelmsford were plagued with bad luck on net cords and injuries.
▪
He confesses that he had the bad luck to cross both Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush.
▪
Dying in my own story. Bad luck , that.
▪
People take something, then have all this bad luck .
good
▪
Why does a black cat bring good luck ?
▪
Contrary to all that gar-bage about being a jinx, she brought me nothing but good luck .
▪
To ensure good luck , your daughter should leave home by the front door, stepping out with her right foot first.
▪
Ciao, Ben. Good luck with Aktion Direkt - and don't forget that you're not the only climber!
▪
Anyway, good-by and good luck to you.
▪
It's best to ring the organisers for start times, directions and more detailed information. Good luck !
▪
Part of the tale is mere good luck , a boon that even this star-crossed conflict enjoys now and then.
great
▪
A new season, a new League and a great bit of luck .
▪
History had made the Saigormais great believers in luck .
▪
The expedition had great luck , and came back with various specimens.
hard
▪
Blown engines, driveshaft failures, the 1,500 mile long route is littered with hard luck stories.
▪
My platoon turned out to be the hard-luck platoon.
▪
If you don't then like the package, or find it doesn't fulfil one of your requirements, hard luck .
▪
Whether it was the rent or just hard luck , many businesses at the mall also cleared out.
▪
Can't have that, can we, not on top of all your other hard luck .
▪
If you don't like it then hard luck !
▪
Either the union is strong enough and can stand it, or it can t, and hard luck .
▪
There's the same familiar chords, beefed-up arrangements and hard luck stories, but not a lot of conviction.
ill
▪
You're a bad agent and you're worse luck .
▪
Nearly all gone now, worse luck , and the guv'nor's arrived to read the riot act.
▪
You go up there with the wrong attitude and come out with worse luck than you had before.
▪
I have to go to secretarial school, worse luck .
▪
Mrs Allen has meanwhile met the Tilneys, and Catherine thinks her day one of ill luck .
▪
Sarah joked dolefully that she and William attracted all the ill luck in the clan.
▪
He felt he probably had the worst luck of anyone he knew.
little
▪
Specialist A little luck then comes your way.
▪
Brilliant detective work with a little luck tossed in to catch the savvy killer.
▪
All they'd needed was a little luck , and he had refused to help.
▪
It just needs a little luck to bring it out.
▪
With a little bit of luck he could still make an impact in an important event.
▪
He was not successful then, so we can only hope he has just as little luck with his latest scheme.
▪
With Hencke and a little luck anything would still be possible.
pure
▪
It was pure luck , my seeing that notice of your concert.
▪
Of the pure luck , or destiny, involved.
rotten
▪
She must have caught her heel and tripped, just rotten bad luck .
▪
It's rotten , rotten luck .
▪
A time to die Rotten luck .
sheer
▪
By sheer luck I had given Reuters their biggest news scoop since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
▪
He made it through sheer luck and by attaching himself to one guy after another and then stepping over them.
▪
So I guessed right; sheer luck .
▪
She flung out her hands and caught the edge of the stone by sheer luck .
▪
Through sheer good luck , or bad luck, depending on whether you were Molly or the fish, the spear struck home.
▪
What sheer bad luck to meet a literary policeman when he was trying to do something nefarious but necessary.
▪
There were lots of near misses: some great saves from both keepers, and sheer bad luck .
tough
▪
Crusaders did have tough luck seconds before the final whistle when a desperation drive by Jim Gardiner bounced off the crossbar.
▪
If you got stuck behind a farmer hauling a load of hay with a Model -, that was your tough luck .
▪
If you follow a small-market team or live a certain distance away, tough luck .
▪
Five, six, seven. Tough luck , buddy.
well
▪
Ah well ... better luck next year.
▪
In April 1911, he seemingly had better luck .
▪
Our bike was still there -- which was better luck than we'd had at the slots.
▪
Movies have had better luck with the subject, since it does afford plenty to watch.
▪
The Barnsley keeper, Paul Whitehead had much better luck at his end.
▪
James had no better luck in securing the acquiescence of the Anglican gentry.
▪
Back to the West Indies with it, and better luck next time.
■ NOUN
pot
▪
Excepting share a yacht or pot luck boats, those who wish to use them carry them.
▪
Before farmers had to take pot luck over whether their ewes were pregnant.
▪
Squad Dilemma; Pot luck again.
story
▪
Blown engines, driveshaft failures, the 1,500 mile long route is littered with hard luck stories .
▪
There's the same familiar chords, beefed-up arrangements and hard luck stories , but not a lot of conviction.
■ VERB
believe
▪
I couldn't believe my luck .
▪
He could hardly believe his luck .
▪
I sometimes could not believe my good luck , and was grateful for it.
▪
They believe it is bad luck .
▪
Joe could hardly believe his luck to have returned home in such good shape.
▪
Voeller could not believe his luck and had the simple task of tapping the ball into an empty goal.
▪
I believed it brought me luck .
bring
▪
Why does a black cat bring good luck ?
▪
It also brings with it bad luck and a grotesque litany of deaths.
▪
This is said to bring good luck .
▪
I believed it brought me luck .
▪
Is it because such a meeting would bring bad luck or is there another reason?
▪
Feng shui holds that the southwest corner of the bedroom is the most important in bringing luck and good chi for relationships.
▪
It may have been a traditional marriage, gift, given to couples to bring them good luck .
change
▪
But he told himself: you can always change luck back again.
▪
Clearly Quinn, just one League goal this season, is hoping Sheron's arrival will change his luck , too.
need
▪
Whatever our endeavour, we need a measure of luck , the kiss of the capricious lady fortune.
▪
Any U.S. city trying to control development needs luck .
▪
What he needed was a bit of luck on the roll.
▪
It just needs a little luck to bring it out.
▪
All they'd needed was a little luck , and he had refused to help.
▪
We were three shots ahead, so perhaps Tom didn't need that much luck this time.
▪
Oh, Mum, I need all that luck you wished me.
push
▪
If the story did turn out to be true, though, I think he might be pushing his luck .
▪
He decided to push his luck .
▪
Just make sure that you don't push your luck too far.
▪
However we pushed our luck and took Molly in, with no protests whatsoever.
▪
Mallachy, indeed, was inclined to push his luck with Rory.
▪
Now above all times, she felt, was not the time to push her luck .
▪
Twelve months later the Captain of Sea Rover pushed his luck once too often.
▪
Sunday 6 November I knew I shouldn't have pushed my culinary luck .
run
▪
The crook was given a reference but ran out of luck when his new bosses caught him fiddling £60 million.
▪
Others just continued borrowing until they ran out of luck or excuses.
▪
Once I get on to a good thing I keep it going until I run out of luck .
try
▪
So why not try your luck ?
▪
He squatted down with a stick to try his luck .
▪
Without a pub to be seen for miles we decided to try our luck in the bar of the hilton.
▪
Riker and I were chosen to try our luck again.
▪
Roll up! Try your luck at the fairest, squarest state lottery of them all!
▪
Fruity Fred the bull terrier took a fancy to the leggy lovely and thought he'd try his luck .
▪
Why not try your luck and help others at the same time?
wish
▪
They then shook hands and delivered warm, almost passionate, hugs as they wished each other luck .
▪
But had we sat down with her, we would have wished her good luck .
▪
Well, I wish you luck .
▪
Everyone wished each other good luck and Mould, Matron and Endill headed off to the library.
▪
She wishes me luck , opens the door to the bathroom, and disappears into a cloud of steam.
▪
Yet at the start of the day both sides had wished each other luck .
▪
The program also features a neat video clip of Norman introducing the game and wishing players good luck .
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
beginner's luck
dumb luck
▪
The cleanup of the oil spill was helped by good weather and a lot of dumb luck.
good luck
▪
And finally good luck to Woodstock-based football manager Jim Smith the on Sunday.
▪
I sometimes could not believe my good luck, and was grateful for it.
▪
I want to know about good luck and bad luck.
▪
If they start talking high teens, good luck to them.
▪
Mac users are wishing Steve Jobs and company good luck.
▪
There's been good luck though, for Steve Bennett of Ross on Wye.
▪
Those for Diem were red, which signified good luck, and those for Bao Dai green, the color of misfortune.
▪
Why does a black cat bring good luck?
good luck to him/them etc
▪
All I say is: good luck to him.
▪
And all good luck to him.
▪
Big women can be as fit as anyone else and if so, good luck to them.
▪
If they start talking high teens, good luck to them.
▪
In which case, good luck to them both.
hard luck
▪
Blown engines, driveshaft failures, the 1,500 mile long route is littered with hard luck stories.
▪
Can't have that, can we, not on top of all your other hard luck.
▪
Either the union is strong enough and can stand it, or it can t, and hard luck.
▪
If you don't like it then hard luck!
▪
If you don't then like the package, or find it doesn't fulfil one of your requirements, hard luck.
▪
Just one hard luck thing after another.
▪
There's the same familiar chords, beefed-up arrangements and hard luck stories, but not a lot of conviction.
▪
Whether it was the rent or just hard luck, many businesses at the mall also cleared out.
knowing my luck
push your luck/push it
sheer luck/happiness/stupidity etc
▪
By sheer luck I had given Reuters their biggest news scoop since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
▪
He made it through sheer luck and by attaching himself to one guy after another and then stepping over them.
▪
She flung out her hands and caught the edge of the stone by sheer luck.
▪
So I guessed right; sheer luck.
▪
Would anybody see if I just nudged them over the edge for their sheer stupidity?
stroke of luck/fortune
▪
But by a remarkable stroke of fortune we were saved from falling into error.
▪
But, in a strange stroke of luck, this fall occurred as Maximilian and his armies were approaching Ensisheim.
▪
I also had a stroke of luck when a Jehovah's Witness called at the door earlier.
▪
That, it turned out, was a stroke of luck.
▪
The years of work and attention were bearing fruit now, and suddenly this stroke of luck with Betty.
▪
Then I had a stroke of luck.
▪
True enough, you married him, and what a happy stroke of fortune for the candidate.
take pot luck
▪
Before farmers had to take pot luck over whether their ewes were pregnant.
tough luck!
try your luck
▪
Stern says he is tempted to try his luck as a candidate for mayor.
▪
But the next time Berger tried his luck, it produced a spectacular dividend.
▪
Fruity Fred the bull terrier took a fancy to the leggy lovely and thought he'd try his luck.
▪
He squatted down with a stick to try his luck.
▪
Ibn Battuta was always one to try his luck.
▪
Riker and I were chosen to try our luck again.
▪
So why not try your luck?
▪
Without a pub to be seen for miles we decided to try our luck in the bar of the hilton.
▪
You can try your luck in Scheffau, and even compete for a bronze, silver or gold medal.
worse luck
▪
Bad luck for Venus, worse luck for the 12,000 fans, but hey, what can you do?
▪
I have to go to secretarial school, worse luck.
▪
Nearly all gone now, worse luck, and the guv'nor's arrived to read the riot act.
▪
You're a bad agent and you're worse luck.
▪
You go up there with the wrong attitude and come out with worse luck than you had before.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
"Please let it be him,'' said Sara, keeping her fingers crossed for luck .
▪
Dice is a game of luck .
▪
Did you have any luck with the job application?
▪
I found the place purely by luck .
▪
I got the right answer, but it was sheer luck .
▪
If luck was on our side, the garage would have delivered our car by now.
▪
If his luck held, no one would notice he had escaped for at least two hours.
▪
The company knew that their run of good luck would not last forever.
▪
With any luck we should reach the coast before it gets dark.
▪
You'll need plenty of luck if you're hoping to succeed in the music business.
▪
You're not having much luck today, are you?
▪
You never know who you'll get as a roommate. It's just a matter of luck .
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
For once, my luck was holding well.
▪
I had the feeling my luck had changed for the better.
▪
In the meantime, good luck , Raul.
▪
It may still avoid one, by luck or by a decisive further tightening now.
▪
Mr Li could with a little luck look forward to another 20 years of political life.
▪
None the less, Williams has had his share of bad luck and trouble.
▪
People milled past, skirting me as though I were bad luck .
▪
This time, luck seemed to be with me.
II. verb
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
beginner's luck
dumb luck
▪
The cleanup of the oil spill was helped by good weather and a lot of dumb luck.
good luck
▪
And finally good luck to Woodstock-based football manager Jim Smith the on Sunday.
▪
I sometimes could not believe my good luck, and was grateful for it.
▪
I want to know about good luck and bad luck.
▪
If they start talking high teens, good luck to them.
▪
Mac users are wishing Steve Jobs and company good luck.
▪
There's been good luck though, for Steve Bennett of Ross on Wye.
▪
Those for Diem were red, which signified good luck, and those for Bao Dai green, the color of misfortune.
▪
Why does a black cat bring good luck?
good luck to him/them etc
▪
All I say is: good luck to him.
▪
And all good luck to him.
▪
Big women can be as fit as anyone else and if so, good luck to them.
▪
If they start talking high teens, good luck to them.
▪
In which case, good luck to them both.
hard luck
▪
Blown engines, driveshaft failures, the 1,500 mile long route is littered with hard luck stories.
▪
Can't have that, can we, not on top of all your other hard luck.
▪
Either the union is strong enough and can stand it, or it can t, and hard luck.
▪
If you don't like it then hard luck!
▪
If you don't then like the package, or find it doesn't fulfil one of your requirements, hard luck.
▪
Just one hard luck thing after another.
▪
There's the same familiar chords, beefed-up arrangements and hard luck stories, but not a lot of conviction.
▪
Whether it was the rent or just hard luck, many businesses at the mall also cleared out.
sheer luck/happiness/stupidity etc
▪
By sheer luck I had given Reuters their biggest news scoop since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
▪
He made it through sheer luck and by attaching himself to one guy after another and then stepping over them.
▪
She flung out her hands and caught the edge of the stone by sheer luck.
▪
So I guessed right; sheer luck.
▪
Would anybody see if I just nudged them over the edge for their sheer stupidity?
stroke of luck/fortune
▪
But by a remarkable stroke of fortune we were saved from falling into error.
▪
But, in a strange stroke of luck, this fall occurred as Maximilian and his armies were approaching Ensisheim.
▪
I also had a stroke of luck when a Jehovah's Witness called at the door earlier.
▪
That, it turned out, was a stroke of luck.
▪
The years of work and attention were bearing fruit now, and suddenly this stroke of luck with Betty.
▪
Then I had a stroke of luck.
▪
True enough, you married him, and what a happy stroke of fortune for the candidate.
take pot luck
▪
Before farmers had to take pot luck over whether their ewes were pregnant.
tough luck!
worse luck
▪
Bad luck for Venus, worse luck for the 12,000 fans, but hey, what can you do?
▪
I have to go to secretarial school, worse luck.
▪
Nearly all gone now, worse luck, and the guv'nor's arrived to read the riot act.
▪
You're a bad agent and you're worse luck.
▪
You go up there with the wrong attitude and come out with worse luck than you had before.