heads i win, tails you lose
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.61 in modern English
31
Scrabble Score
21
Letters
5
Syllables
13
Unique Chars
Meaning
phrase
Said to describe a conflict in which someone has a particular advantage from the start.
Example Sentences
- "I suppose it is just as if he had said to me, "Heads I win, tails you lose." I thought that it was against law; but this man, Lord they call him, quieted me with his reciprocity."
- "I'll flip a coin, heads I win, tails you lose—and the loser must tell a story"
- "So here was an early instance of the "heads I win, tails you lose" dilemma, in which the United States is faced with corrupt regimes, on the one hand, and Islamic militants, on the other—or indeed a collusion between them."
Etymology
A slight twist on the normal convention when flipping a coin, which is heads I win, tails you win. The flurry of antonymic reversals — heads or tails, you or me, win or lose — sounds euphonious and might seem fair upon first hearing, which makes the phrase suitable for a fast-talking confidence trick except to the extent that it has become hackneyed and synonymous with rigged arrangements.