there's no telling

Idioms  

1. It's impossible to determine, as in There's no telling how many children will come down with measles, or There's no telling what will happen in the next episode of that soap opera. This idiom uses telling in the sense of “reckoning,” a usage dating from the late 1300s.

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Example Sentences

There’s no telling if it will work this time, but there is reason to hope it won’t.

From Salon

There’s no telling who might start Saturday at Galen Center.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s no telling how bad the blowback will be from either or both, but let me make a bold prediction: Really bad, and it will take decades to unfold.

From Salon

There’s no telling whether that dynamic will persist into 2026.

From Barron's

“It’s your long-lost ma and pa, and now you tell me these three precious children are Lumleys, too! I don’t know what to say, except providence is kind, and we oughtn’t ever lose hope, for there’s no telling what the next hour will bring, is there?”

From Literature