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odds
give odds
1. To offer a bet with favorable odds to the bettor (as by a bookmaker). Bookmakers are giving odds that the company's new smartphone outsells its competitors 2:1.
2. To be completely sure of something. I'll give odds that Jeremy tries to skip out on paying me back for dinner.
odds and sods
An assortment of small, miscellaneous items, especially those that are not especially important or valuable. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. I can never find my what I need amongst all the odds and sods in this drawer! I wish the house weren't so cluttered up with odds and sods.
what are the odds
1. How likely do you think it is that (something will happen or something is the case)? That new intern is a nightmare. What are the odds she screws up another order? I hear we're supposed to get over two feet of snow. What are the odds of them canceling school tomorrow, do you reckon?
2. That is or was incredible; that is or was extremely unlikely. Wow, I just won money on a scratch card for the third time in a row! What are the odds? And then it turned out that our dads sat next to each other in a class in college. What are the odds?
set at odds
To be in conflict. Why are our parents suddenly set at odds? Did someone mention politics?
at odds
In conflict. They are at odds over the best way to lead the committee.
be at odds (with)
To be in conflict (with). They are at odds over the best way to lead the committee. Our fact-checker found that the witness's story was completely at odds with what the reporter had written.
against all odds
Despite being very likely to fail. Against all odds, he was able to survive being stranded in the wilderness for a week with no food.
against the odds
Despite being very likely to fail. Against the odds, he was able to survive being stranded in the wilderness for a week with no food.
against all odds
despite very low probability; in a most unlikely way. Against all odds, she managed to win the trophy.
at odds (with someone)
and at odds over somethingin opposition to someone; at loggerheads (with someone). Mary is always at odds with her father about how late she can stay out. John and his father are always at odds over what to watch on TV.
give someone odds that...
to propose a sham bet to someone, the implication being that even at favorable odds the outcome will defy the odds. (Often with a negative.) I'll give you odds that you won't be able to order a decent steak at this restaurant.
odds and ends
miscellaneous things. There were lots of odds and ends in the attic, but nothing of real value. I had the whole house cleaned out except for a few odds and ends that you might want to keep.
odds are against one
[for fate] to be against one generally. You can give it a try, but the odds are against you. I know the odds are against me, but I wish to run in the race anyway.
odds-on favorite
the most popular choice of a wager. Fred is the odds-on favorite for president of the board of trustees.
against the odds
also against all odds despite many difficulties The team battled against the odds and won the championship in the final weekend. He should be famous given what he accomplished against the odds.
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of odds (the likelihood of success expressed as a comparison of two numbers)
at odds (with somebody/something)
(slightly formal) in disagreement Such behavior is clearly at odds with what civilized society expects. The two women were hopelessly at odds.
against (all) the odds
also against all odds if you do or achieve something against all the odds, you do or achieve it although there were a lot of problems and you were not likely to succeed Against all the odds, she conceived her first child at the age of 56. He struggled against the odds to keep his business going during the recession.
be at odds
to disagree (often + with ) She's at odds with the mayor over cuts in the department's budget. (often + over ) They're at odds over the funding for the project.
be at odds with something
if one statement or description is at odds with another, it is different when it should be the same Blake's version of events was at odds with the official police report.
odds and ends
(British, American & Australian) also odds and sods (British & Australian informal) a group of small objects of different types which are not very valuable or important I eventually found my keys buried beneath the odds and ends in the bottom of my bag.
See pay over the oddspay over the odds
(British & Australian) to pay more for something than it is really worth (often + for ) It's a nice enough car but I'm sure she paid over the odds for it.
against all odds
In spite of seeming very unlikely, as in Against all odds we had a snowstorm in early May, or Against all odds the slower team won. This transfer of a betting term to general usage occurred about 1900.
at odds
In disagreement, opposed. For example, It is only natural for the young and old to be at odds over money matters. This idiom uses odds in the sense of "a condition of being unequal or different," and transfers it to a difference of opinion, or quarrel. [Late 1500s]
by all odds
By far, as in She is by all odds the best player on the team. This idiom uses odds in the sense of "the amount by which one thing excels or exceeds." [Mid-1800s]
lay odds
Make a bet on terms favorable to the other party, as in I'll lay odds that it will rain before the week is out. [c. 1600] The closely related lay a wager means "make a bet," as in He laid a wager that Don would be late. [c. 1300]
odds and ends
Miscellaneous items, fragments and remnants, as in I've finished putting everything away, except for a few odds and ends. This expression may have originated as odd ends in the mid-1500s, meaning "short leftovers of some material" (such as lumber or cloth). It had acquired its present form and meaning by the mid-1700s.
odds are, the
The chances are, as in The odds are that they'll serve turkey for Thanksgiving. Replacing it is odds by the late 1600s, this phrase refers to betting.
odds-on
mod. having to do with the thing or person favored to win. My horse is an odds-on favorite to win.
at odds
In disagreement; in conflict: "The artist and the self-critic ... are, with a few felicitous exceptions, forever at odds" (Joyce Carol Oates).
by all odds
In every possible way; unquestionably: By all odds it is the best film of the year.