one should be so lucky

English

Alternative forms

• one will be lucky

Etymology

Calque of Yiddish מען זאָל זיין אזוי מזלדיק (men zol zeyn azoy mazldik, “one should be so lucky”)

Phrase

one should be so lucky

1. (informal, sarcastic) It is highly doubtful: indicating that something is not likely to happen to the person specified.
   • 1970, The New York Times Biographical Service, New York Times & Arno Press, page 660:

     So now I'm the Beverly Sills of Broadway, right? Hah! I should be so lucky!

   • 1971, Equal Rights for Men and Women 1971: Hearings, Ninety-second Congress, First Session, U.S. Government Printing Office, page 131:

     I laugh uncontrollably when I meet women who say, "What if we get equal rights; we'll all be drafted!" My reply is, "You should be so lucky." The male-dominated military are not about to open their last sanctuary to 51 percent of the population.

   • 1983, Larry Ketron, Asian Shade, Dramatists Play Service, page 37:

     I play my heart out. To have me on his team, he should be so lucky. That's right. When I get chosen, I give everything.

   • 1988, Jack Kugelmass, editor, Between Two Worlds, Cornell University Press, page 311:

     "You take pictures in here and you're liable to get a rat in one of them!" "I should be so lucky. I've been trying for years to get a picture of a rat at the Intervale Jewish Center without any luck. They refuse to pose."

Translations

it is highly doubtful

• Czech: zlatý voči!
• Hungarian: azt megnézem magamnak!, (ugyan/vajon) mikor lesz/van neked olyan/akkora szerencséd?
• Spanish: no caerá esa breva
• Yiddish: מען זאָל זיין אזוי מזלדיק (men zol zeyn azoy mazldik)

See also

• chance'd be a fine thing
• one should live so long

Further reading

• “one should be so lucky”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “I should be so lucky”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “you should be so lucky”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.