ENGLISH
REFERENCE

there is no telling

idiom
Meaning

Used to indicate that something cannot be known or predicted with certainty.


Examples
SIMPLE

There is no telling when the bus will arrive.

CONTEXTUAL

With the weather changing so quickly, there is no telling if the outdoor concert will happen tonight.

COMPLEX

Given the volatile nature of the global economy, there is no telling how these new regulations will affect the market in the long term.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    all there

    Mentally competent; not absent-minded or insane.

  2. 02

    as if there were no tomorrow

    To an excessive degree, oftentimes with little to no regard to future consequences; desperately; recklessly or wantonly; frantically; very quickly or very much.

  3. 03

    be there

    To be available to provide comfort and support for someone, especially in a period of difficulty.

  4. 04

    been there, done that

    An assertion that the speaker has personal experience or knowledge of a particular place or topic and is not too keen on revisiting or redoing it again.

  5. 05

    been there, done that, bought the T-shirt

    Expresses the speaker's complete familiarity with a situation, with overtones of cynicism or exhaustion.

  6. 06

    been there, done that, got the T-shirt

    Alternative form of been there, done that, bought the T-shirt.

  7. 07

    don't go there

    Do not broach that topic.

  8. 08

    get there

    To succeed after a lengthy attempt.

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