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tempt fate
tempt fate
to take a foolish risk because you are depending too much on luck She didn't want to tempt fate by turning down the job and hoping something better would be offered.
tempt fate/providence
1. to do something which involves a risk and may cause something unpleasant to happen I always feel it's tempting fate to leave the house without an umbrella.
2. to cause bad luck for yourself by talking too confidently about a situation It's probably tempting fate to say so, but I haven't had a cold all year.
tempt fate
Also, tempt the fates. Take a severe risk, as in It's tempting fate to start up that mountain so late in the day, or Patrice thought driving that old car was tempting the fates; it was sure to break down . This expression uses tempt in the sense of "test in a way that involves risk or danger." Earlier idioms with a similar meaning were tempt God, dating from the 1300s, and tempt fortune, first recorded in 1603, with fate appearing about 1700.