give hostage to fortune

give hostage to fortune
To take an action or make a statement that is risky because it could cause you trouble later.

, He was very cautious with his words and gave no hostages to fortune.


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  • give a hostage to fortune — formal, formal if something gives a hostage to fortune, it may cause problems in the future. She could never be president because her journalistic work gives too many hostages to fortune …   New idioms dictionary

  • a hostage to fortune — an act, commitment, or remark that is regarded as unwise because it invites trouble or could prove difficult to live up to making objectives explicit is to give a hostage to fortune * * * a hostage to fortune ◇ In British English, a hostage to… …   Useful english dictionary

  • fortune — noun /ˈfɔːtjuːn/ a) Destiny or fate. b) A chance. Ant: misfortune See Also: fortunate, unfortunate, give hostage to fortune …   Wiktionary

  • hostage — [häs′tij] n. [ME < OFr < hoste: see HOST2] 1. a person given as a pledge, or taken prisoner as by an enemy or terrorist, until certain conditions are met 2. Obs. the state of being a hostage SYN. PLEDGE give hostages to fortune to get and… …   English World dictionary

  • hostage — noun (C) 1 someone who is kept as a prisoner by an enemy so that the other side will do what the enemy demands: hold sb hostage (=keep someone as a hostage): The group are holding three western tourists hostage. | take sb hostage (=seize someone… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • fortune — noun 1 MONEY (C) a very large amount of money: He inherited his fortune from his father. | cost/spend/be worth a fortune: They must have spent a fortune on that house. | a small fortune (=a lot of money): She won a small fortune on the horses. |… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • hostage — /ˈhɒstɪdʒ / (say hostij) noun 1. a person given or held as a security for the performance of certain actions as the payment of ransom, etc. 2. Obsolete the condition of a hostage. 3. a security or pledge. –phrase 4. give a hostage to fortune, to… …  

  • Outrageous Fortune (film) — Outrageous Fortune Theatrical release poster Directed by Arthur Hiller Produced by …   Wikipedia

  • One Life to Live miscellaneous characters — The following are minor or recurring characters from the American soap opera One Life to Live. Contents 1 Kimberly Andrews 2 Nigel Bartholomew Smythe …   Wikipedia

  • Baconian theory — The Baconian theory of Shakespearean authorship holds that Sir Francis Bacon wrote the plays conventionally attributed to William Shakespeare.The mainstream view is that William Shakespeare of Stratford, an actor in the Lord Chamberlain s Men… …   Wikipedia

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