tempt fate
Also, tempt the fates. Take a severe risk, as in It's tempting fate to start up that mountain so late in the day, or Patrice thought driving that old car was tempting the fates; it was sure to break down. This expression uses tempt in the sense of “test in a way that involves risk or danger.” Earlier idioms with a similar meaning were tempt God, dating from the 1300s, and tempt fortune, first recorded in 1603, with fate appearing about 1700.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
How to use tempt fate in a sentence
Arobin pulled off his coat, and expressed himself ready and willing to tempt fate in her place.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinI think it's perfect; but I'd better not tempt fate with any more.
The Opened Shutters | Clara Louise BurnhamThe oftener we looked the more eager we became to tempt fate.
Life and Adventures of 'Billy' Dixon | Billy DixonIt was to tempt fate to venture out of the shelter the rock was giving.
Cape of Storms | Percival PollardAnd yet Maguennoc tried to tempt fate and to get past what men are allowed to know.
The Secret of Sarek | Maurice Leblanc
Browse