a roll of the dice

idiom

informal

—used to say that something could have either a good result or a bad result

Opening a new restaurant is always a roll of the dice.

It's a roll of the dice whether we succeed or fail.

Examples of a roll of the dice in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But regardless, the point is, each additional person, each human born into the world, is a roll of the dice. —Miles Bryan, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

However, even with all the proper pieces in place, every film is a roll of the dice, and every good film is widely considered to be a miracle. —Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Before the backdrop of a magmatic cavern stand three adventurers: a warrior, a mage, and a trickster who, with a roll of the dice, are preparing to defeat a tentacled chthonic beast. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2024

But the Santa Rosa club members aren’t the only ones out there who prefer a roll of the dice to a mouse click. —Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024

My problem is that signing up for a lesson through a resort or a health club is such a roll of the dice. —Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2024

Even daily life can feel like a roll of the dice: With regularity, some Americans go to school, the grocery store, church, a concert, or the movies and get gunned down in a random act of mass murder. —Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2024

For now, the death of our planet is a roll of the dice away from certainty. —Quanta Magazine, 20 Dec. 2023

Every day since the trees were planted has been a roll of the dice. —Stefanos Chen Bryan Anselm, New York Times, 18 Dec. 2023