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

In a country where thousands of people disappear every year and mass graves keep turning up, surviving a night of work as a driver for hire can feel like a roll of the dice. —Ladan Anoushfar, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2025

Norris was gifted the win by the stewards at Silverstone and then again by a roll of the dice on strategy in Hungary—when Piastri had clearly been the better driver at both races and deserved the wins. —Rob Reed, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025

Signing Justin Fields to replace Aaron Rodgers at QB this offseason was a roll of the dice. —Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025

Commercial flights had been shut down for months, and travel around Port-au-Prince was a roll of the dice. —Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 13 July 2025

That’s worth a roll of the dice, especially when the cost of placing the bet is zero. —Thomas Drance, New York Times, 29 June 2025

But for many, getting a good night’s sleep feels like a roll of the dice, despite trying all the latest sleep hacks and accessories promising deeper rest. —Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2025