ten to one, adv. phr.
Most likely, certainly. This idiom expresses odds, ten to one, as if making a bet, but it is used figuratively as a sentence adverb meaning simply “I think.” Also: ten-to-one odds. These phrases go back to at least the late 1500s. Similar: I bet ...
• Ten to one Fred will be late again today. He hates Monday mornings.
• Look at those clouds. Ten to one it’ll be raining by the time we arrive at the park. I bet it’ll be raining.
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