Where Does the Term "No Dice" Come from?

Where does the term "no dice," meaning something's that unacceptable, come from?

"No dice" is a phrase that's believed to have originated in the United States in the early 20th century. Since gambling with dice was illegal in most states, crapshooters went to great lengths to hide or dispose of the bad-boy bones when the law showed up (there were reports of gamblers actually swallowing the dice to avoid arrest). Prosecutors and judges had to throw out illegal-gambling charges when there were "no dice" -- in other words, evidence.

According to phrases.org, the earliest known reference to the term was printed in the Port Arthur [Texas] Daily News in April 1921: "It's 'no dice' when the bones can't be found, according to a local court decision. Six white men were arrested Tuesday by Officer W. D. Moore and charged with gaming with dice." At the trial, the men were acquitted due to the lack of evidence. So "no dice" meant no conviction.

Somewhere along the line, like many gambling terms, "no dice" insinuated itself into the general slang, to mean "an unacceptable alternative," or "an unfavorable result," or "a refusal to accept a proposition" -- in short, "nothing doing."

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Jackie Dec-24-2020

I always thought

the term No Dice meant a bad throw like both dice not hitting the wall.

Bobby White Dec-24-2020

Merry Christmas

To everyone & peace on Earth.

Dave in Seattle. Dec-24-2020

NO ROLL.

 Too short to be a good number rolled. Usually a caution is given for a short roll.
Over the rail is over the lumber, no number. Too tall to call.
If that happens, get new dice. That speeds up the game.

Dave Dec-24-2020

As long as we’re talking about gambling terms that have entered the regular vocabulary…

I’d like confirmation on the term 86.

I had heard that it comes from the good old mob run days, meaning, 8 miles out and 6 feet down. True???

Ray Dec-24-2020

I thought what Jackie thought

It seemed to me that whenever there was what was considered an illegal or unacceptable roll at the craps table, the stickman would call out "no dice!", which would mean whatever showed up on the dice didn't matter and the shooter would need to roll again.

Question of the Day - 24 December 2020

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