there's no telling

Idioms

It's impossible to determine, as in There's no telling how many children will come down with measles, or There's no telling what will happen in the next episode of that soap opera. This idiom uses telling in the sense of “reckoning,” a usage dating from the late 1300s.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It’s also always worth bearing in mind that there’s no telling how the events of the next nine months might reshape public opinion.

From Salon

There’s no telling for sure whether these indicators will turn out to be truly predictive until November.

From Salon

“Oh, Grandpa,” I said, “if we took him to town with us, there’s no telling what might happen.”

From Literature

There’s no telling what they’re liable to do.

From Literature

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile, and there’s no telling whether the reserve gamble will end up being a net gain for taxpayers.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023