tempt fate

Idioms and Phrases

Also, tempt the fates . Take a severe risk, as in It's tempting fate to start up that mountain so late in the day , or Patrice thought driving that old car was tempting the fates; it was sure to break down . This expression uses tempt in the sense of “test in a way that involves risk or danger.” Earlier idioms with a similar meaning were tempt God , dating from the 1300s, and tempt fortune , first recorded in 1603, with fate appearing about 1700.

Example Sentences

“We didn’t want to tempt fate,” Dickson said, laughing as he recalled the March 7 incident.

From Los Angeles Times

If so, you’ll relate with the denizens of the fictional, funky Seattle record store The Cuckoo’s Nest, who tempt fate one drunken night by simultaneously playing four, old 12-inch singles, conjuring the fabled “Schrader’s Chord.”

From Seattle Times

He’s going to tempt fate and make the unconventional decisions, and we should be used to that.

From Los Angeles Times

"And because the U.S. has yet to display the growth infirmities of the rest of the world, the U.S. stands apart, and the Fed has signalled that it can tempt fate."

From Reuters

"And because the U.S. has yet to display the growth infirmities of the rest of the world, the U.S. stands apart, and the Fed has signalled that it can tempt fate."

From Reuters