Push your luck

The boss is angry. You would be pushing your luck asking for leave today.

You are really pushing your luck if your expect that without good spoken English skills, you will do well in the interviews.

Well, it happened slowly. One day, he drove drunk and was not caught. This emboldened him and he decided to push his luck. He wasn’t caught the next couple of times. But then, yesterday, he had a severe accident due to drunken driving and is now in a hospital.

The boss has already granted you leave for three days. As it is, the work pressures are high and the team is short on personnel. I don’t think you should push your luck by asking for a half day today.

Your attendance is short and grades are poor. You are really pushing your luck by asking the principal for a permission to go on tour for two weeks.

Push your luck – what happens when you push something? You try to make it move forcibly, you try to make it go longer distance than it would normally go. What could it mean applied in the context of luck?

It’s simple. When you push your luck, you are trying to make it move farther than it would normally go. Basically expecting the good luck to continue – taking on a risky venture running the risk of losing what you already have.

Let’s take some more examples:

1. The prettiest girl in the class has invited him for her birthday but he would be pushing his luck asking her for a date today.
2. You already have made a lot of money. I think you should come out of the stock market now. The uncertainties are high and everyone is talking about a recession and a fall in share market. You might actually be pushing your luck.
3. His wife is in a bad mood because he did not wish her for her birthday. He was pushing his luck when he told her that he had invited some of his friends. As expected, they had a big fight and then, he had to cook for his friends.