Russian roulette

noun

1. a game of high risk in which each player in turn, using a revolver containing one bullet, spins the cylinder of the revolver, points the muzzle at the head, and pulls the trigger.

Russian roulette

noun

1. a game of chance in which each player in turn spins the cylinder of a revolver loaded with only one cartridge and presses the trigger with the barrel against his own head
2. any act which, if repeated several times, is likely to have disastrous consequences

Word History and Origins

Origin of Russian roulette¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

A council has been accused of "playing Russian roulette" with residents' lives over its plan to force people to get planning permission for second homes.

From BBC

“We are playing Russian roulette with the planet. We need an exit ramp off the highway to climate hell,” Guterres said, while adding: “The truth is, we have control of the wheel.”

From Seattle Times

“I liken drinking raw milk to playing Russian roulette,” O’Brien said.

From Seattle Times

Pallenberg’s story involves an unremitting cascade of drugs, addiction, volatile relationships and parenting tragedy, along with a 1979 incident in which a 17-year-old shot himself at her home, possibly playing Russian roulette.

From New York Times

“Every time a gun was loaded with ‘dummy’ rounds, it was a game of Russian roulette,” the lead prosecutor, Kari T. Morrissey, wrote in a court filing ahead of the sentencing.

From New York Times

Related Words

• delicate
• dicey
• hazardous
• precarious
• risky
• rugged
• shaky
• threatening
• ticklish
• touchy
• treacherous
• uncertain
• unstable