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Taka Posted 22 years ago
Vocabulary

Fat/slim chance

Why does "fat chance" have almost the same, negative meaning as "slim chance"??

I don't get it.
  

Top answer

And 'fat chance' is even less chance than 'slim chance'-- ain't English great, Taka? Perhaps the coiner was being ironic.

— Mister Micawber

  • And 'fat chance' is even less chance than 'slim chance'-- ain't English great, Taka?
  • Perhaps the coiner was being ironic.
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3 Answers
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And 'fat chance' is even less chance than 'slim chance'-- ain't English great, Taka? Perhaps the coiner was being ironic.
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It's an [url="http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cellis/antagonym.html"]antagonym[/url]: a single word that has meanings which contradict each other
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Interesting. So it's like a "great" man is not necessarily a great man in its literal sense, right?
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