hiding to nothing
A situation in which victory has little or no value, but defeat has a huge cost.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Trying to win that argument is a hiding to nothing.”
“The manager knew that taking on the project with such a small budget was a hiding to nothing.”
“By challenging the board of directors without any evidence, the young executive realized he was on a hiding to nothing and quietly withdrew his proposal.”
disputed origin
The phrase originates from the vocabulary of British horse racing, where a hiding signifies a thorough beating. The structure employs the preposition to in the manner of gambling odds, such as six to one, suggesting a wager where the stakes are particularly poorly calculated.
The literal logic of the expression describes a contest in which the participant stands to gain nothing from a victory but is guaranteed a hiding in the event of failure. It is frequently applied to a heavily favoured sporting team whose success is dismissed as a foregone conclusion and whose defeat is treated as a professional humiliation. Under such conditions, one is said to be on a hiding to nothing.
- 01
come to nothing
To fail completely; to have no result.
- 02
dance on nothing
To be hanged.
- 03
here goes nothing
Indicates a lack of confidence or certainty about the activity about to be tried.
- 04
if nothing else
At the very least; as a minimum.
- 05
much ado about nothing
A lot of fuss or bother about something trivial.
- 06
nothing doing
Absolutely not; definitely no.
- 07
nothing for it
No alternative; nothing else to be done or to have recourse to.
- 08
nothing if not
Certainly; definitely; (sometimes also obliquely) thoroughly; wholly; to a high degree; extremely.
Last updated August 10, 2026