How come fat chance and slim chance both mean the same thing?

Comments

• Anchorxiety@reddthat.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  “Are you up for it?” and “Are you down for it?” both mean the same thing too

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  • ninja@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Things can burn up and down at the same time.

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• owenfromcanada@lemmy.ca ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  The phrase “fat chance” was likely originally used sarcastically. A quick search doesn’t show any consensus, though.

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  • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I mean it still is used sarcastically, even if the user might not be aware of it.

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• Asetru@feddit.org ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Not a native speaker, but I always interpreted fat chance to have an ironic undertone. So… literally it’d mean the opposite, but it’s never used literally.

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  • Bougie_Birdie@piefed.blahaj.zone ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I read it this way too. It’s like how your biggest friend might be nicknamed Tiny

    I don’t know that you can pin down the origin, but a quick search suggests it was early 20th century American English. That makes sense to me, it sounds like the sort of slang I’d hear in an old gangster movie

    If you updated the slang for modern times I don’t know if it would have the same impact. If somebody told me I had a dummy thick chance, I’d think my odds are pretty good

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• MutantTailThing@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Because English is three languages in a trench coat pretending to be one language.

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  • someguy3@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Not the origin of this. We can’t just say that to everything related to English.

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    • daychilde@lemmy.world ⁨13⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

      Of course you can say that. It’d be wrong, but you absolutely could say it. ;-)

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• seblin@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  According to this stackexchange:

  fat chance is like a cynical no chance:

  You think you can win the lottery? Fat Chance. slim chance is when there is a small possibility. It does not infer any hidden meaning. Even though I did not study, there is a slim chance that I will pass the test.

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  • cattywampas@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Plus language evolves organically and isn’t always perfectly logical and consistent.

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• Diddlydee@feddit.uk ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  They don’t mean the same thing as I understand them. Slim chance means there’s a chance but fat chance means practically no chance.

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  • daychilde@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

    Depends on context. “Slim chance” might technically allow for a small chance, but a lot of the time it’s used, it’s used to indicate that the speaker considers there to be no actual chance. Like if you say “That’s probably not gonna work” you probably actually mean “I believe that is going to not work”.

    But this discussion is interesting, because I’d imagine “fat chance” only came about as a sarcastic way of saying slim/no chance. I’m pretty sure it’s like “disgruntled” where nobody is actually gruntled. Language is delightful. :)

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• SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  because the persons who came up with those phrases were Biggie Smalls and FatBoy Slim

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  • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨29⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

    🎵Biggie Smalls is celibate in hell, celibate in hell, celibate in hell 🎵

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• melsaskca@lemmy.ca ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  They’re not the same though. “Fat” chance carries lard/tallow which can burn, so it is flammable. “Slim” chance has no lards or greases to burn, therefore it is “inflammable”. /s

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  • AmidFuror@fedia.io ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Irregardless, it's confusing when opposites mean the same thing.

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    • daychilde@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

      I’m only upvoting you through my narrowed eyes because I hate you so much. lol

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• chaosCruiser@futurology.today ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Likewise, “all but impossible” sounds like the probability is anywhere above zero (0, 1]. Counterintuitive, what it really means is that it is actually very close to zero.

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  • humanamerican@lemmy.zip ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I could care less about this

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    • Junkers_Klunker@feddit.dk ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      You could, but apparently don’t.

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    • chaosCruiser@futurology.today ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Thanks!

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    • Maeve@kbin.earth ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      So you care a lot?

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• communism@lemmy.ml ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I think “fat” is sarcastic. At least that’s how it reads to me.

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• newtraditionalists@kbin.melroy.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  They dont.

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• username_1@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Those expressions are stupid anyway. Say high/low probability instead.

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  • edgemaster72@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    You want me to use a 5 syllable word when a 1 syllable word will do? Fat chance!

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    • username_1@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      You can’t buy bread with syllables, no need to save them :)

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  • AmidFuror@fedia.io ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Never tell me the odds.

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    • username_1@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Odds

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  • medicsofanarchy@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    ∆__ this guy Spocks

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• leaky_shower_thought@feddit.nl ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  “fat” ain’t “good”, brah. you gotta say “t h i c c”~

  jokes aside, it’s mostly answered by other good comments here.

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