Sod's law

British

/ sɒdz /

noun

Also called: Murphy's Law. informal a humorous or facetious precept stating that if something can go wrong or turn out inconveniently it will

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Sod’s law is bearing down on India today.

From The Guardian • Jun. 18, 2017

This is the conclusion of a scientific investigation into what might be described as Sod’s law of shoelaces.

From The Guardian • Apr. 11, 2017

Thus, in what might be called the Sod’s law of fund management, a fund’s worst year will probably occur when it is at its biggest.

From Economist • Oct. 2, 2014

Sod's law therefore suggests they're bound to soon lose a game they really deserved to win 7-0.

From The Guardian • Feb. 5, 2011

Sod's law dictated that Warrington would therefore make it to the final – their first since 1990.

From The Guardian • Aug. 27, 2010

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023