by long odds
Preserved but no longer current.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “by long odds” mean?
By a great difference; as, "He is the best man by long odds." In horse-racing, odds are the ratio by which the amount staked by one party to a bet exceeds that of the other; hence long odds indicates a big variance in this ratio.
Is “by long odds” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.