down on one's luck
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Short of cash and credit. He has the luck of the devil, or the devil's own Juck. He is extraordinarily lucky; every- thing he attempts is successful.
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 “down on one's luck” mean?
Short of cash and credit. He has the luck of the devil, or the devil's own Juck. He is extraordinarily lucky; every- thing he attempts is successful.
Is “down on one's luck” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.