ROGET'S THESAURUS OF ENGLISH WORDS AND PHRASES ...

Taylor]; anything is possible; in theory possible, but in practise unlikely.
471. Impossibility -- N. impossibility &c adj.; what cannot, what can never be; sour
grapes; hopelessness &c 859.
V. be impossible &c adj.; have no chance whatever.
attempt impossibilities; square the circle, wash a blackamoor white; skin a flint; make
a silk purse out of a sow's ear, make bricks without straw; have nothing to go upon;
weave a rope of sand, build castles in the air, prendre la lune avec les dents [Fr.], extract
sunbeams from cucumbers, set the Thames on fire, milk a he-goat into a sieve, catch a
weasel asleep, rompre l'anguille au genou [Fr.], be in two places at once.
Adj. impossible; not possible &c 470; absurd, contrary to reason; unlikely; unreasonable
&c 477; incredible &c 485; beyond the bounds of reason, beyond the bounds of
possibility, beyond the realm of possibility; from which reason recoils; visionary;
inconceivable &c (improbable) 473; prodigious &c (wonderful) 870; unimaginable,
inimaginable † ; unthinkable.
impracticable unachievable; unfeasible, infeasible; insuperable; unsurmountable † ,
insurmountable; unattainable, unobtainable; out of reach, out of the question; not to be
had, not to be thought of; beyond control; desperate &c (hopeless) 859; incompatible &c
24; inaccessible, uncomeatable † , impassable, impervious, innavigable † , inextricable; selfcontradictory.
out of one's power, beyond one's power, beyond one's depth, beyond one's reach,
beyond one's grasp; too much for; ultra crepidam [Lat.].
Phr. the grapes are sour; non possumus [Lat.]; non nostrum tantas componere lites [Lat.]
[Vergil]; look for a needle in a haystack, chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin
[Fr.]; il a le mer +a boire † .
472. Probability -- N. probability, likelihood; credibleness † ; likeliness &c adj.;
vraisemblance [Fr.], verisimilitude, plausibility; color, semblance, show of; presumption;
presumptive evidence, circumstantial evidence; credibility.
reasonable chance, fair chance, good chance, favorable chance, reasonable prospect,
fair prospect, good prospect, favorable prospect; prospect, wellgrounded hope; chance &c
156.
V. be probable &c adj.; give color to, lend color to; point to; imply &c (evidence) 467;
bid fair &c (promise) 511; stand fair for; stand a good chance, run a good chance.
think likely, dare say, flatter oneself; expect &c 507; count upon &c (believe) 484.
Adj. probable, likely, hopeful, to be expected, in a fair way.
plausible, specious, ostensible, colorable, ben trovato [It], well-founded, reasonable,
credible, easy of belief, presumable, presumptive, apparent.
Adv. probably &c adj.; belike † ; in all probability, in all likelihood; very likely, most
likely; like enough; odds on, odds in favor, ten to one &c; apparently, seemingly,
according to every reasonable expectation; prim=a facie [Lat.]; to all appearance &c (to
the eye) 448.
Phr. the chances, the odds are; appearances are in favor of, chances are in favor of; there
is reason to believe, there is reason to think, there is reason to expect; I dare say; all
Lombard Street to a China orange.