# What does "Roll the dice" mean to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 25, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021 "2014-07-25T13:47:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/21 "2014-07-25T19:00:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > To me “roll the dice” means "take a chance and then do that thing.’ But when I hear “dice” in a gaming context I assume one or more little polyhedral things. ^ This right here. In a game manual, the only time I’d accept dice when speaking about a single die is with a rule like “Roll as many dice as the number of opponents.” It’s possible to have a single die in this case, but I think it would be unnecessary for a grammar Nazi to insist on clarifiers like die(dice) and opponent(s). We all understand what’s meant. In casual speech, I’ll forgive any errors because you don’t have time to stop and edit your thoughts… but it’s not a mistake I’ll be making, thank you very much. If someone put “one dice” in a game manual and defended it, their opinion about anything in their own game manual would now be invalid. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/22 "2014-07-25T19:02:42Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > I gave up when the Ford dealers were talking about how many Focuses they had in inventory. Why? “Focus” is a product name, not a descriptive noun. A lens system can have multiple foci. Your Ford dealer probably has a lot of Focuses. I’m not sure this is a valid linguistic focal point. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/23 "2014-07-25T19:06:58Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > I gave up when the Ford dealers were talking about how many Focuses they had in inventory. What’s wrong with that? I didn’t think proper nouns were obligated to follow the same irregular plural forms as the common nouns they were derived from. Still, if that bothers you, stay away from the Nissan dealership down the road, where they’re selling Maximas. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/24 "2014-07-25T19:13:53Z")
Even though I KNOW that die is the correct word for a single spotted cube, and “dice” is the plural, I have to admit: even when I’m playing a game with only a single die, I usually say “Roll the dice,” and so do most people I’m acquainted with. “Roll the die” may be more accurate, but it sounds weird. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/25 "2014-07-25T19:23:37Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Why? “Focus” is a product name, not a descriptive noun. A lens system can have multiple foci. Your Ford dealer probably has a lot of Focuses. I’m not sure this is a valid linguistic focal point. _Focus_ is now a English word, so it’s time to stop the nonsense and have it pluralize by a S. Same with similar words, and for crikeyssake it’s not now _nor has it ever been_ “octopi”. \*\*Octopuses! \*\* ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/26 "2014-07-25T19:25:28Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > But yes, using dice as a singular noun marks you as a moron, even more so than this data. A Language is a living thing- _get used to it_. In fact many of the neologisms are for the better. Many have held on only due to the fact that pedantic highbrows like to look down upon ordinary folks as “morons”. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/27 "2014-07-25T19:30:39Z")
The only way “roll the dice” can be a universal phrase is in place of the clumsier “roll the die or dice” when the game requires one or more cubes or polyhedrons to be tossed at that juncture. If the instruction is always to roll a single item, it should read “roll the die.” ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/28 "2014-07-25T20:17:49Z")
Granting for the evolution of language in the direction of each piece being called a singular “dice”, which I see as pretty much irresistible by now however much I may lament it, then I would expect such an instruction to have either the specification “roll _[specific number, including “one”]_ x-sided dice”, or otherwise there’s an antecedent by which you are instructed to use “_[specific number, including “one”]_ x-sided dice” and you use however many that was. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/29 "2014-07-26T04:40:45Z")
“Dice” as a singular is well established, to the extent that I doubt whether most people even know that “die” is the “correct” (i.e., old) singular form. To be understood, which is what matters in a game manual and most other contexts, one should use “dice” whether singular or plural. To insist on “die” is obfuscatory, prescriptivist pedantry. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/30 "2014-07-26T05:02:48Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > “Dice” as a singular is well established, to the extent that I doubt whether most people even know that “die” is the “correct” (i.e., old) singular form. To be understood, which is what matters in a game manual and most other contexts, one should use “dice” whether singular or plural. To insist on “die” is obfuscatory, prescriptivist pedantry. Do you have any evidence whatsoever for your claim that far more people nowadays use “dice” than “die” for the singular? The results of this poll seem to argue the opposite (though, admittedly, Dopers aren’t an unbiased sample of the general population). ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/31 "2014-07-26T05:10:49Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > ::: snip :::: > > Still, this phrase comes up more in a “take a chance and accept the outcome” cliché sense than a literal one for me, in which case the number of dice is unspecified and irrelevant. This… ↑↑↑ 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeke_N.Destroi)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/32 "2014-07-26T05:33:44Z")
Having not read any of the other posts my full - but succinct - answer is this: 1. If I’m playing a game then by definition dice means more than one die 2. In any other context it means take your chances and the number of dice is really irrelevant. I hope I’m not the first to say this. Zeke. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/33 "2014-07-26T11:17:58Z")
I would only think the word was being used technically correctly if it’s in some official place. I would not expect most people to use the word “die,” and I have, on occasion, chosen to use “dice” for a single die to avoid confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/34 "2014-07-26T11:28:12Z")
Looks like a lot of people haven’t paid much attention to the OP/poll here. Some don’t even get it’s about games, or feel the need to point out the existence of the word “die”. I voted for all the most common ones. I’ll talk pedantically, and expect a game book to be specific, but don’t expect everyone else to be as anal as me. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/35 "2014-07-26T12:17:31Z")
In the semiconductor industry a wafer is sliced up and the individual chips are each called a die. I’ve seen plenty of technical papers and literature that pluralize this back to “dies.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/36 "2014-07-26T12:30:57Z")
Even though I know “die” is singular and “dice” plural, I still would say “roll the dice” in a casual conversation, as would everyone else. In an actual rulebook? I guess I’d expect more accuracy, but I probably wouldn’t notice one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/37 "2014-07-26T12:51:57Z")
If I read instructions that said “roll the dice”, I would assume they were talking about one or more dice; “roll the die or dice” just sounds awkward. However, the phrase “one dice” just sounds wrong. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/38 "2014-08-01T04:32:59Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > His opinion literally made my head explode. Well, if you’re not too dead from Exploded Head Syndrome, post your address, so we can have a cleanup crew dispatched. And maybe an EMT or two. P.S. When I hear “roll the dice,” I think of someone being encouraged to take a risk in their personal life. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/39 "2014-08-01T10:48:13Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > In the semiconductor industry a wafer is sliced up and the individual chips are each called a die. > > I’ve seen plenty of technical papers and literature that pluralize this back to “dies.” :smack: Okay, I’ll bite: is this actually wrong? My Shorter OED doesn’t list that as a use of the word _die_, but it does list the word _die_ as ‘4 An engraved stamp for impressing for impressing a design on some softer material as in coining…’ and the plural for that is _dies_. BTW there are other homonyms which have divergent plurals. E.g. _staff_ (of wood) has plural _staves_, but _staff_ (of people) has plural _staffs_. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021/40 "2014-08-02T01:21:02Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > So you were arguing with someone whose job it is not only to define the rules of a universe, but to tell others how to define a universe using those rules? This reminds me of a great work of English literature written by John Milton: [‘Paradise Lost’](http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/paradiselost/summary.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-roll-the-dice-mean-to-you/694021.md?page=3)