Sometimes, idioms just turn our heads upside as we try to guess what they mean. Some idioms are difficult to guess without knowing their origins.
If you are here because of “Fortune favors the bold”, you can have a cup of water and lean back. You just found the answers.
The idiom above is not a difficult one. In fact, it is not a confusing idiom we have in English language.
You will realize this from the meaning which is mentioned in the article. This article will tell the meaning of ‘Fortune favors the bold’, how the idiom is used, and 20 other similar idioms.
The meaning of “Fortune favors the bold”
When you say fortune favors the bold, it is a simple saying which can be interpreted in its literal form. Fortune is also known as ‘Luck’, just as ‘good fortune’ is known as ‘good luck’.
A bold person refers to a brave or daring person. A bold person is adventurous and will stand up to challenges even when there are very slim chances of him or her overcoming them. This must be how the idiom was formed.
When a person tells you that fortune favors the bold, you are being told to be bold. It simply means Bold people enjoy more good luck.
You will have the chance to celebrate success if you take the risk. This idiom not only comes in this way.
A person can also say;
- Fortune favors the brave
- Fortune favors the daring
- Fortune favors the strong
- Fortune favors the prepared mind.
20 Phrases similar to Fortune Favors The Bold
- Who dared wins
- Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
- No guts, no glory
- Give hostage to Fortune
- Bald is bold.
- Bold as brass
- Forward-leaning
- Look before you leap
- Ride high
- Throw enough dirt and some will stick
- Slow and steady wins the race
- Ace out
- As luck would have it.
- Feel one’s oats
- You won’t know unless you try
- Take your time
- Fearlessness is the mother of success
- Faint heart never won fair lady
- Better to be safe than sorry.
- Courage is rewarded.
Who dares wins
“Who dares win” is not just a similar phrase to ‘Fortune favors the bold’, it is basically coined in the same way. If you don’t understand what this idiom means, you should understand when a person says ‘He who dares is he who wins’.
This implies that it is a person who dares to try that dares to win. It is basically the same as saying ‘Fortune favors the daring’.
It refers to a person that dares to take a risk of success and failure. If the person refuses to make the dare, there is no chance of success just as there is no chance of failure.
However, this idiom actually means that people that take risks are bound to have more wins.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
You can probably guess what this saying means also. If you can’t tell what it means, you should be able to understand when you hear, ‘You gain nothing if you venture nothing’
Venture refers to risks or stakes. It is a property of yours that you put on the line with the hope of gaining something.
If you truly don’t stake in a gamble, you can’t gain from the gamble. That is the idea behind this idiom. In every gamble, nothing is guaranteed so every stake is always a risk. It takes a bold person to join a gamble and make stakes.
If you think this idiom supports gambling, you are right. It does support gambling.
No guts, no glory
This is very similar in meaning to the two idioms mentioned earlier. You should be able to tell what this idiom means also at first glance.
If you can’t guess the meaning of this idiom, you should be able to tell what it means when a person says ‘without guts, you can earn no glory’.
Gut has several meanings. In this context, ‘Guts’ refers to confidence or bravery. It refers to the boldness to do things that a normal person wouldn’t do.
It may even be the same thing that some people consider stupid. Others consider those stupid moves as acts of bravery. However, this saying focuses on gains so your bravery has to be for a clear reason.
This saying implies that you have to stand up to tough things if you want to win big. Unlike the other two idioms, this does not explicitly refer to gambling.
We have already heard sayings from motivational speakers and influencers about dreaming big. They say big dreams help a person go far. They say to let your dreams scare you.
It takes guts to follow dreams that seem impossible but that is when a person goes far. When a person attains the impossible level, that is glory that cannot be ignored.
Give hostage to Fortune
This idiom is unlike the ones that have been mentioned earlier. This does not actually refer to success or bravery. However, it relates to guts. The guts in this context invite trouble rather than success.
When something gives hostage to Fortune, it invites trouble. For example, ‘Making such promises to the world will give hostage to Fortune’
The example above means that the action about to be made will lead to a lot of trouble because it will be hard to defend or hard to live up to.
Bald is bold
‘Bald is Bold’ also has a meaning that can be considered literal. People with bald heads are usually considered strong, bold, and confident. That is all this idiom implies. You may not consider this true.
You may be a bald person and you are just sure you are one hell of a coward. This idiom is not talking about you.
In some cultures, bold people shave their hair and go on adventures.
Bold as brass
This is an adjective for qualifying a person’s daring attitude. It doesn’t need much explanation since its meaning is sitting right in the saying.
When you say a person is bold as brass, you are simply saying that the person is bold.
Forward-leaning
This is another adjective that talks about boldness. A person may not be able to guess this accurately but you may be partially right.
Forward-leaning simply means a person is ready to take initiative and make steps forward. Such a person can be considered confident and brave, and also have the potential of being a leader.
Look before you leap
Wait a minute. You are very familiar with this phrase so very little explanation is needed. It is the opposite of ‘Fortune favors the bold’ and every similar idiom that has been mentioned on this list.
While it is not averse to bravery, it is averse to the idea of risks.
When you tell a person to look before leaping, you are telling the person to look forward and make sure he or she won’t be leaping into a manhole. This is not cowardice. Rather, it is common sense.
While the other idioms that have been mentioned earlier are not necessarily stupid decisions, they may be stupid in many cases. Gambling is not a good idea and, while many gamblers may be lucky, many will also be unlucky.
This idiom simply advises that a person takes no unnecessary gamble. Instead of keeping your eyes closed and leaping in hope that there won’t be a manhole in front of you, you can open your eyes and make sure you are on the safe side.
However, in a situation where you can’t see ahead to avoid a manhole, you can take the risk.
Ride high
Ride high is a verb phrase about good fortune. It is not like the others that appear as pieces of advice. This is simply being in a situation where one is privileged to enjoy good fortune.
It doesn’t talk about taking risks or making bold moves to survive. It simply refers to a person that is enjoying his or her time.
Throw enough dirt and some will stick
This is a crazy idiom and may not seem related to Fortune or boldness in any way. It sounds like a piece of advice but it shouldn’t be one. However, we can treat it as a fact since it actually is.
This idiom talks about saying bad things and making evil allegations against a person. It implies that some rumors will stick around if one can say as many rumors as possible.
Truly, you can say so many rumors that some will begin to feel like the truth, even though they are just rumors.
Slow and steady wins the race
This is another very good idea on this list but it may not be seen as a good one by everyone. Just like ‘Look before you leap’, this idiom is not about bravery, though it refers to fortune.
It is also very easy to understand, asides from the fact that everyone already knows what this means.
This implies that a person can make massive wins by taking things slowly. By taking things slowly, you can keep your eyes on the road and avoid manholes easily, instead of making unnecessary sacrifices.
As mentioned earlier, this is not always a good idea. One may need to move sharply to win massively. However, this still depends on how lucky a person is.
Ace out
This is another verb phrase that refers to good fortune. When a person aces out, the person is on a winning streak.
This means the person has achieved good fortunes and is continuing to achieve more. Just like the other verb phrase mentioned earlier, this doesn’t talk about bravery or what it takes to ‘ace out’.
Rather, it focuses on the act of being on a winning streak. You can use this to describe a person who is consistently winning.
As luck would have it.
This adverbial phrase is simply a longer way of saying ‘fortunately’. This is a phrase you use to describe an action that has turned out productive, commendable, or lucky.
It doesn’t talk about bravery, nor does it talk of actual good fortune and success.
Feel one’s oats.
This verb phrase is not about fortune, like the other verb phrases mentioned earlier. Rather, it focuses on bravery.
This idiom is hard to interpret. If no one tells you what this idiom means, you probably will be unable to guess correctly or have any idea at all.
When a person feels his oats, he summons courage or boldness and moves energetically.
You won’t know unless you try
We probably shouldn’t consider this an idiom since it’s just literal. Everyone already understands what this means.
This is part of the meaning of ‘Fortune favors the bold’. In some situations, you have the chance to make a certain move but you are holding back because you don’t know how it will turn out. However, you won’t know till you try.
Only when you try do you have the chance of success.
Take your time
This is another way of saying ‘slow and steady wins the race’. As mentioned earlier, this may not be seen as a good idea since there are other people going after the same goal and moving much faster.
Fearlessness is the mother of success.
This idiom is literal so everyone should understand. It implies that it is a person fearless enough to try that eventually succeed.
Faint heart never won fair lady
This is another easy idiom. It is also quite interesting. It implies that a shy man cannot win the heart of the woman he loves. The man must be daring enough to make a move.
Better to be safe than sorry
This implies several, or even excessive, precautions made to avoid failure. It is against the idea of ‘Fortune favors the bold’. As this may not always be a good idea, it may also be the best idea in some cases.
Courage is rewarded
This requires no further elucidation. Courage is rewarded. This idiom is often used to advise a person to make a bold move toward a goal to stand a chance of success.