play Russian roulette

Cultural  

1. To gamble foolishly on a risky or potentially ruinous business. The expression refers to a deadly game in which a participant loads a revolver with one bullet, spins the cylinder, and fires at his own head: “If you drink and drive, you're playing Russian roulette with your life and the lives of others.”

---

Example Sentences

"Even if a convoy is 90% effective, which ship owners and crew unions are prepared to play Russian roulette in one of them?" said Clarke.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

“We can’t play Russian roulette with the destiny of millions of people,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

"For governments to allow private entities to essentially play Russian roulette with every human being on earth is, in my view, a total dereliction of duty," said Russell, a prominent voice on AI safety.

From Barron's • Feb. 17, 2026

You had to be a certain kind of person, after all, to show up at the home of a has-been writer, to disable Arete, to play Russian roulette with your soul.

From Slate • May 27, 2023

“Mr. Baldwin chose to play Russian roulette when he fired a gun without checking it, and without having the armorer do so in his presence,” Mitchell’s attorney Gloria Allred said at a news conference.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 17, 2021