no dice

Idioms  

1. Also, no go; no soap. No, certainly not; also, impossible. For example, Anthony wanted to borrow my new coat, but Mom said no dice, or We tried to rent the church for the wedding, but it's no go for the date you picked, or Jim asked Dad to help pay for the repairs, but Dad said no soap. All of these slangy expressions indicate refusal or an unsuccessful attempt. No dice, from the 1920s, alludes to an unlucky throw in gambling; no go, alluding to lack of progress, dates from about 1820; and no soap dates from about 1920 and possibly alludes to the phrase it won't wash, meaning “it won't find acceptance.” Also see nothing doing; won't wash.

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Example Sentences

Of course, some culinary pros still say no dice.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

If we wanted in on the powerful feelings that must have been swirling within each of them during such an exchange, or a nod to the momentousness of the moment — no dice.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 20, 2025

I pleaded with my nurse practitioner to let me take it off at night, but she said no dice.

From Washington Post • Jun. 19, 2022

We were both represented by the same agency; no dice.

From New York Times • May 26, 2022

Except of course for the opal-haworthia plant, which Seven had been trying for years to grow just for its invisibility properties, but no dice.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

Related Words

• fruitless
• hollow
• impractical
• ineffective
• ineffectual
• insufficient
• trivial
• unproductive
• unprofitable
• unsuccessful
• useless
• vain
• worthless