Lucky

“ It opened a wide field, and my imagination disported in it, as might a wild mustang over some vast prairie. The more I thought over it, the more did it seem to me the real embodiment of that superstition which extends to every land and every family of men. We are Lucky when, submitting to our Good Genius, we suffer ourselves to be led along unhesitatingly; we are Unlucky when, breaking our frail bonds, we encounter life unguided and unaided. ”

“ Having ordered a bottle of Rhine wine, Tom turned to Molken, and said:
"What did you mean by saying that I was one of the lucky ones?"
"Oh, don't you know there are some men born under a lucky star—as they would have said in old times? What the cause is, of course I don't know, except it be that Heaven must have some favorites, if only for the sake of variety. At all events, there is no denying that some men are born to luck. They are lucky in everything they put their hands to. ”

“ The girl who had never had any luck darted a keen, examining glance at the girl who had all the appearance of having been born lucky. Married, as pretty as a picture, everything out of the smartest shops, the owner, probably, of this hill and those woods, and the old house that she had peeped at all among that lovely garden—she couldn't have come up against life's sharp elbow, surely? ”

“ My inquiry as to what persons or things are or were considered lucky or unlucky, as first-footers or to first-footers, has resulted in a somewhat long list. The following were considered lucky: Friends, neighbours, and all well-wishers; a kind man; a good man; a sweetheart; people who spread out their feet (Old Machar) ; those who were born with their feet foremost (Old Machar) ; a man on horseback; a man with a horse and cart; the minister (?) ; a hen.
One of the clearest cases of the luck considered to attend the meeting of a horse and cart comes to me from New Machar. ”

“ Should the listener at any point be tempted rashly to exclaim "how lucky!" the old gentleman will turn on him with a severe frown and say, "luck, sir; nonsense. There's no such thing as luck. Live on a crust, sir; that's the only way for a man to get on in the world." ”

“ An appeal to luck to-day is the equivalent of the old prayer to the Goddess Fortuna, and is voiced in the common idea about the lucky coin and the various little observances for luck which are so popular. ”

“ Every dollar you win, every forward step in fame or fortune that you take, may mean unhappiness for someone who is less lucky. And, we are so happy, heart of mine, that we can surely let others be happy, too. ”

“ Was it only luck which had given Rudyard Byng those three millions? It could not be just that alone. She remembered her grandfather used to say that luck was a powerful ingredient in the successful career of every man, but that the man was on the spot to take the luck, knew when to take it, and how to use it. "The lucky man is the man that sits up watching for the windfall while other men are sleeping"—that was the way he had put it. ”

“ Then, too, how many people think themselves great who are only lucky, vulgarly lucky. There is that solemn puffed-up one! Would he be so important if he had not married a rich wife who can pay the bills? And there is that other dull piece of prosperity who owes all his success to his pretty and clever wife who knows just how to wheedle good things out of the really great. ”

“ Now, there are human beings who, in the great things they say and do, seldom fail of having this great, vague backing. There are others whom the grand current for the most part sets against. It is part of the great fact of Luck—the indubitable fact that there are men, women, ships, horses, railway-engines, whole railways, which are lucky, and others which are unlucky. I do not believe in the common theory of Luck, but no thoughtful or observant man can deny the fact of it. ”

“ In fact, you are what the world loves best, cherishes most, and lavishes all its blandishments on,—a devilish lucky fellow! Lucky in a capital fortune, abundance of good gifts, good looks, and an iron constitution,—one of those natures that can defy duns, blue-devils, and dyspepsia! ”

“ Now there lived at Court an old woman who had been the Prince's nurse. To her he confided all his plans, and left his wife, the Princess, in her care. 'You have a long way before you, my son,' said the old woman; 'you must never return till you have met with Lucky Luck. If he cannot help you no one on earth can.'
So the Prince set off to try to find Lucky Luck. He walked and walked till he got beyond his own country, and he wandered through a wood for three days, but did not meet a living being in it. ”

“ But, he thought, I keep them with precision. Only I have no luck any more. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready. ”

“ One goes on recognizing the landmarks of the predecessors, excited, amused, taking the hard luck and the good luck together—the kicks and the half-pence, as the saying is—the picturesque common lot that holds so many possibilities for the deserving or perhaps for the lucky. ”

“ If you want to be lucky in life, force luck and make it yourself. Believe in yourself, and others will believe in you.
Rise early, be punctual, reliable, honest, economical, industrious, and persevering, and, take my word for it, you will be lucky—more lucky than you have any idea of. ”

“ “And have you never known the pleasure and triumph of a lucky guess?—I pity you.—I thought you cleverer—for, depend upon it a lucky guess is never merely luck. There is always some talent in it. ”

“ You will do me an injustice, however, if you think that I have simply been demonstrating the non-existence of luck. I believe that when we say a man is lucky, we mean something definite, and that thing surely has an existence. It may not be the Goddess Fortuna, or her modern successor, but it is very real and it is worth investigating and taking into account. If you are told that one of your assistants is “lucky”, do not laugh it away. Find out the facts, and if they indicate that she is unusually successful in what she undertakes, be thankful that you have a lucky person on your staff. ”

“ It is not at all impossible that the idea of a kind of ‘luck’ attached to this or that object, was evolved by dint of meditating on a mere series of lucky accidents. Such or such a man, having found such an object, succeeded in hunting, fishing, or war. ”

“ Bendish: Plague! At least I wasn't so stupid as to give him the jerkin he asked for! It's a lucky jerkin for lucky men. They usually are employed in great matters, and I intend to use it in a great affair. For once in my life I intend to know what it is to be a man of fortune. I already know how to ogle, as for small talk I know that. I have only to dress quickly. (taking Cadwell's clothes from an armoire, and dressing with difficulty for Cadwell's clothes are a bit tight) Oh, let's begin with this divine jerkin. ”

“ One who’ll bring you luck and keep you lucky!” Presently one of the bystanders stopped him and said, “If your god is all you make him out to be, how is it you don’t keep him and make the most of him yourself?” “I’ll tell you why,” replied he; “he brings gain, it is true, but he takes his time about it; whereas I want money at once.” ”

“ No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm.”
Of the things closely associated in the popular mind with good or bad luck, what in short one may or may not do to obtain the favors or turn aside the frowns of fortune, the list is a long one. We say “God bless me!” when we sneeze, as an invocation to good luck. Then, for instance, it is considered lucky to find a cast-off horseshoe, or a four-leaved clover, or to see the new moon over the right shoulder, or to have a black cat in the house, especially one that comes to you of its own accord. ”

“ It is not for me or for anyone to analyse these constituents; yet somehow, I think, we are instinctively conscious of the lucky man when we meet him. Maybe it is that same instinctive recognition which partly makes for the lucky man's luck, inasmuch as we are naturally inclined to invest our trust in such a child of Fortune ”

“ Lucky and unlucky occasions present themselves to every man in the course of his life; and the art of seizing the one and averting the other with address, is commonly what procures for a man the reputation of fortunate. ”

“ Well, who would not suffer for good luck. Was ever a man better dressed? Large head, small waist, low hips. Dammit, I intend to forget that Cadwell exists. Damnation, I almost forgot the best part. Orange flower water. Can one have good fortune without orange flower water? (he takes a flask from the toilet and sprays himself) It seems to me I have all the attributes of a lucky man. God protect us from mishap!
CURTAIN ACT V. The same. An hour later. Jenny: Where the devil is Olivia? Where is Worthy? Worthy hasn't returned yet. ”

“ As in his unacted play, The Lucky One, he gives evidence of a desire, not unfrequent in humourists, to be taken seriously. But he knows by now that brilliant dialogue is what is expected of him, and he thinks, too modestly, that he cannot afford to dispense with it for long at a time. The result is that, after stringing us up to face a tragic situation, he is tempted to let us down with light-hearted cynicisms. ”

“ It is lucky to give away food or money, to break a drinking glass accidentally, for a girl to see a man from her window on New Year's morning, and the birth of a child brings good luck to the entire family. ”

“ Exit Polly l. d. Stuart. It’s better to be born lucky than rich. (Pats domino tenderly, and arranges it neatly in chair c.) You’re luckier, though, for you belong to the dearest and most heartless woman in this world. ”

“ If we are born under a lucky star it shows that we have earned the good fortune thereby indicated, by forethought, kindness, and our other virtues expressed in previous lives, for we cannot have friends unless we are friendly ourselves. ”

“ The thing that passes for luck is in nearly all cases the just reward of honest endeavor.
Do not, therefore, start out in life with the expectation that some “lucky turn” will bring you sudden honor or wealth or position without any effort on your part. ”

“ This is an expression from the vocabulary of business converted into the slang of the street.
Luck
Luck, like behavior, may be either good or bad. “The carpenter has met with luck; he fell and broke his leg.” “The manager has met with luck; his salary has been doubled.” The adjective lucky and the adverb luckily are used only in a favorable sense.
Make way with
This expression is often incorrectly used for make away with; as, “The Judge gave the boot-blacks a Christmas dinner, and the begrimed urchins quickly made way with the turkey and cranberry sauce.” Say “made away with,” etc. ”

“ I've knowed lots of men in my time—rich ones and poor ones—poor ones that was happy, and rich ones that wasn't. You're one of them last. I've been studying over what you said the other evenin', about me not knowin' what I was talkin' about—about luck, you know. I guess you're right about that. 'Tain't how much a man gets that makes him lucky—it's knowin' how to enjoy what he has got. You're restless, John. What you need is a wife. ”

“ So it may be that a particular series of happenings may be affected by locality, by personality or by season. So far as this is true, chance or “luck” has ceased to act and we must look for the cause. These, however, are precisely the circumstances in which many persons are accustomed to invoke a luck of higher grade and more potent qualities, a luck that clings to person, place, or time. If in a series of happenings more turn out to the advantage of a particular person than pure chance would warrant, he is said to be “lucky”. ”

“ Why, boys, I won fifteen hundred dollars last night. Nobody can beat me. I’m Cochran. Lucky Cochran!”
And his “Haw, haw, haw!” was so loud it startled even the deck steward, who barely missed dropping a cup of hot coffee he was carrying to an invalid, and prompted an A. B. on the boat deck to peer over, to learn whether there was a menagerie aboard.
“Oh, you’re lucky, are you?” David answered with a badly concealed sneer. “And you’ve won at the first sitting, have you? Well, see here, Cochran, I’m goin’ to tell you something. The boob always wins at first—until the stakes get high. ”

“ Much that in the lives of others we are apt to attribute Pg 100 to luck turns out on closer examination to be the natural though infrequent result of certain cultivated qualities. I have heard of several persons who have had handsome legacies left them by strangers in unexpected acknowledgment of kindness shown. Uniform courtesy is almost sure to be followed sooner or later by some such reward. People who are what we call “quick-witted,” whose judgment is cool and action prompt, are apt to be lucky even in misfortune. ”

“ Here she succeeded better, for she was one of those happily created beings who please without effort, make friends everywhere, and take life so gracefully and easily that less fortunate souls are tempted to believe that such are born under a lucky star. ”

“ But, goodness gracious me! who was standing not far behind them, but Danny Fox!
“Worse and worse,” sighed poor dear Uncle Lucky, hopping off sideways when, all of a sudden, Old Man Weasel crept from behind a stone.
“What shall we do?” cried the poor little rabbit, all a-tremble with fright. “Won’t somebody come to help us?” ”

“ Well, when they all reached the Old Bramble Patch, there stood dear Uncle Lucky on the front porch, his old wedding stovepipe hat in his front paw and his big diamond horseshoe pin in his pink cravat. ”

“ From the higher standpoint those who are living in the lap of luxury are to be pitied when their lucky stars give them all the good things of this world and cause them to forget that they are stewards and that the day is coming when their souls shall be required of them with an account of their stewardship. They shall then be forced to confess that they have failed to use the substance entrusted to them in the proper manner; while others under the strain and stress of life, expressed by the horoscopical squares and oppositions, have wrong from their unlucky stars a measure of victory. ”