Buckley's

Origin

The phrase "Buckley's" as a stand-in for "no chance at all" is a distinctly Australian idiom, originating from Buckley's Mixture, a potent Canadian cough syrup renowned for its incredibly strong, bitter taste. The company's enduring slogan, "It tastes awful. And it works," became legendary, highlighting the medicine's unpleasantness alongside its effectiveness. This potent, unappealing remedy offered a stark choice: suffer through the awful taste for relief, or endure the illness with no help. From this memorable dilemma, the idiom was born: if you have "Buckley's," you have a choice between something terrible and nothing at all—effectively, no real choice or no chance of a good outcome. It's a testament to the syrup's unforgettable taste and the Australian love for wry understatement that it became such a popular phrase for describing dire odds.