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Introduction

An expression to say something is extremely unlikely, or that it's almost certain someone will or won't do something.

Transcript

Beth
Welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Beth.

Feifei
And I'm Feifei.

Beth
We have an expression that describes a very tiny chance of something happening. The phrase is 'a million to one'.

Feifei
'A million to one'. Beth, can you tell us a bit more?

Beth
Well, I've entered a baking competition. I really hope I get into the finals, but I'm not feeling confident – especially because I’m not very good! The chance is a million to one!

Feifei
A million people haven't actually entered the competition, but you say a million to one because you feel your chance isn't very high.

Beth
Yes. It's an exaggeration. I think the chance is extremely unlikely.

Feifei
Well, I hope you hear back soon. Maybe you could bring a cake in for us to try…

Beth
I can, but you'll have to get in quickly. It's a million to one that Neil and Phil will not have eaten it all before you even get near it! You know how much they love cake!

Feifei
True. It's almost certain that they'll eat it before I even see it! Greedy.

Beth
Let’s listen to some more examples.

Examples
Charlotte being on time is a million to one. You know she's always late.

They say that the chances of this software failing are a million to one – almost impossible.

It's a million to one that I'll win the lottery, but it doesn't stop me entering each week!

Feifei
You’re listening to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English, and we are learning the expression 'a million to one', which is a way of saying something is extremely unlikely or that it's almost certain someone will or won't do something.

Beth
Now, this phrase looks similar to another phrase – 'one in a million'. They can have the exact same meaning, can't they?

Feifei
They can. But you can also say a person is 'one in a million', which means they are very special. Can you bring a cake in tomorrow? You'll be one in a million if you do!

Beth
Well, when you put it like that… I might! See you next time.

Feifei
Bye bye!

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