Wednesday, January 26, 2011

영어 Slang of the Day #14 "All bets are off." Wait, when did we bet?

영어 Slang of the Day #14: "All bets are off."  Wait, when did we bet?

All bets are off is used when something dramatically changes a situation, which makes one person/party re-evaluate the situation entirely.  Obviously, the background here is that when you make a bet, the relevant facts are known.  However, when something so dramatic occurs, then the bet is no longer fair, then you want to cancel the bet.  At that time, you could use the phrase "all bets are off."

Examples
(o)  I thought that I was going to marry Chul-Ho, but then I saw him kissing another girl!  All bets are off.
(o)  All bets are off: we need to re-evaluate our entire strategy because popularity of the iPad.

Notes:
Many 영어 Slang of the Day entries are not appropriate for a business/professional setting.  However, this is a phrase which will not offend anyone.  While too casual for writing in a formal report of any kind (business or academic), it would be perfectly acceptable to use this phrase in a casual setting or when speaking with business colleagues.


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