no dice

Idioms  

1. Also, no go; no soap. No, certainly not; also, impossible. For example, Anthony wanted to borrow my new coat, but Mom said no dice, or We tried to rent the church for the wedding, but it's no go for the date you picked, or Jim asked Dad to help pay for the repairs, but Dad said no soap. All of these slangy expressions indicate refusal or an unsuccessful attempt. No dice, from the 1920s, alludes to an unlucky throw in gambling; no go, alluding to lack of progress, dates from about 1820; and no soap dates from about 1920 and possibly alludes to the phrase it won't wash, meaning “it won't find acceptance.” Also see nothing doing; won't wash.

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Example Sentences

Of course, some culinary pros still say no dice.

From The Wall Street Journal

I tried shade matching to a pic of Taylor Swift wearing red lipstick but no dice.

From The Verge

I even tried adding a period to make it g.co/assistant-guacamole, thinking the “go” might have been a typo for one of Google’s g.co shortlinks, but no dice.

From The Verge

Among Black male Republicans, 32 percent said no dice.

From Washington Post

"The Ethics Committees said no dice, unless the rifle was permanently affixed to a plaque and could not be removed for use."

From Salon

Related Words

• fruitless
• hollow
• impractical
• ineffective
• ineffectual
• insufficient
• trivial
• unproductive
• unprofitable
• unsuccessful
• useless
• vain
• worthless