“In the Cards”
TWICE — “YES or YES”
💭 Meaning
“In the cards” is used to refer to something that is likely or destined to happen, as if the future were already written, i.e., for results that seem inevitable or at least very probable.
✍️ Examples
After months of hard work on her essays, a strong application season seemed to be in the cards for Henry’s student.
With the team’s record this year, a championship run was clearly in the cards.
Henry said a college application guidebook might be in the cards if the grammar guide sells well.
📜 Origin
The phrase comes from fortune-telling with cards, such as tarot or ordinary playing cards, where a reader “sees” a person’s future in the cards that are dealt. If something was “in the cards,” the cards had predicted it. The idiom has been used in English since at least the 19th century, and it spread from the fortune-teller’s table into everyday talk about fate and probability. Some word historians also note a link to card games, where the cards you’re dealt shape what outcomes are possible. The exact first use is hard to pin down, but the fortune-telling root is the one most sources point to.
