What does “life plays tricks on him” mean?

Question

What does this statement mean?

Life plays tricks on him.

Is it similar to

He has a twisted fate.

Daniel δ · Answer 1 · 2011-08-05 13:24:14Z

Both of the statements are idioms and have similar meanings.

Life plays tricks on him means that he often has to deal with unexpected events that seem to force him to make changes to his plans.

In the second idiom twisted generally means cruel or preverse. The first idiom would seem like an understatement for someone with a twisted fate.

The first would infer the he freqently encounters obstacles but can be dealt with like the loss of a job. The second infers something much worse.

Thursagen · Answer 2 · 2011-08-05 11:08:42Z

up vote 0 down vote

Yes, this makes sense. It means that a lot of unexpected outcomes and occurrences happen to him/her.

In a sense, yes, it also means the same as "He/she has a twisted fate".

edited Aug 5 '11 at 11:08

user2683

answered Aug 5 '11 at 10:38

Thursagen
1

	Oh thank you for your quick reply. By the way, what does your "In a sense" mean ? – Dalton Aug 5 '11 at 10:41
	"Twisted fate" can mean both "unexpected outcomes and occurences" and "very bad destiny", or he/she has bad things happening to them all the time. "Life plays tricks on him/her doesn't have the "bad things happening to them all the time" connotation – Thursagen Aug 5 '11 at 11:03
	I've heard of "a twist of fate" to mean an unexpected outcome but not of someone having a "twisted fate". I'm not aware of fate having a definition that could lead to one fate being considered a twisted (i.e. abnormal) one. – Lazarus Aug 5 '11 at 11:53

2 Answers