cards are stacked against

Idioms  

1. Many difficulties face someone or something, as in The cards are stacked against the new highway project. This term originated in gambling, wheremeans to arrange cards secretly and dishonestly in one's own favor or against one's opponent. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

“We know that the cards are stacked against younger people, especially younger women, and we want to do everything we can to support them and get money behind them,” Hogg said.

From Slate

As Tiexiera puts it when discussing why such projects feel doubly difficult to produce, “The cards are stacked against you. Not only is it hard to find, it’s like a lot of it was either deliberately destroyed or mislabeled or hidden. It’s not just like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna have to look for this.’

From Los Angeles Times

The Adran Premier club said in a statement it has "become clear that it is an impossible task to continue...the cards are stacked against us".

From BBC

"The cards are stacked against you. You will likely lose your case with the prelitigation panel. That doesn't mean we don't believe in your case."

From Salon

“I see continuous glucose monitoring technology as a form of empowerment in the face of a very difficult health culture where many cards are stacked against us.”

From Slate