Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Buckley’s n.

also Buckley’s chance, Buckley’s hope, Buckley’s show
[? proper name of William Buckley (1780–1856), an escaped convict who spent 32 years living with Aborigines in South Victoria; or pun on name of defunct firm of Buckley and Nunn (founded by Mars Buckley and Crumpton Nunn in 1851) therefore one has two chances ‘Buckley and Nunn’, i.e. none; see Ozwords (Oct. 2000) – journal of the AND centre – for an extended discussion]

(Aus./N.Z.) no chance at all.

Show quotations
[ Hay Standard & Advertiser (NSW) 16 Mar. 2/2: Ivanhoe Races [...] On the 18th a Match for £5. — Buckley’s Chance, (Buckley) Millard’s Turpin, won easily by Chance].
[Aus]Melbourne Punch 22 Sept. 10/2: [H]e didn't want the Fitzroy men to have ‘Buckley’s chance’ .
[NZ]N.Z. Observer and Free Lance (Auckland) 22 Oct. 18/2: B.H. thinks he has got a chance with A.L. You haven't got Buckleys, old boy.
[Aus]Bulletin (Sydney) 9 Nov. 13/1: ‘Buckley’s chance’; the Maoriland Supreme Court vacant judgeship.
[Aus]Bulletin (Sydney) 12 Oct. 16/2: The W.R. co. tried hard to beat me, but they had only Buckley’s show.
[Aus]W.A. Sun. Times (Perth) 9 Feb. 1/1: The ticket-scalper has ‘Buckley’s’ of evicting her.
[Aus]‘Banjo’ Paterson ‘Driver Smith’ in Rio Grande’s Last Race (1904) 150: You have Buckley’s chance for to catch a man that was trained in Battery A.
[Aus]‘Dryblower’ ‘His Quest’ in Sun. Times (Perth) 3 Apr. 4/7: You’ve done the rattler in today, you ain’t got Buckley’s ’ope.
[NZ]N.Z. Free Lance (Auckland) 12 Oct. 3: [heading] BARCLAY’S CHANCE OR BUCKLEY’S. Sir Joseph : Very sorry, Mr. Barclay, but the foundation of your argument was too weak.
[Aus]C.J. Dennis ‘The Intro’ in Songs of a Sentimental Bloke 20: It wer’n’t no guyver neither; fer I knoo / That any other bloke ’ad Buckley’s too.
[NZ]Marlborough Express 13 Sept. 7: The Hon. Mr Herries: ‘Well, you have two chances—Buckley’s and your own.’ (Laughter).
[UK]V. Palmer Passage 35: He’s not going to marry any of ’em. Not Buckley’s chance!
[NZ] (ref. to 1890–1910) L.G.D. Acland Early Canterbury Runs (1951) 365: Buckley’s Chance, Buckley’s – No chance whatever.
[Aus]Sun. Times (Perth) 8 Sept. 9s/2: You’ve done the rattler in to-day, you ain’t got Buckley’s ’ope.
[NZ]Eve. Post (Wellington) 7 Oct. 20/4: [caption] ‘Buckley’s Chance’ — Exemption from Tax.
[Aus]L. Glassop We Were the Rats 44: ‘You’ve still got a chance.’ ‘I’ve got two chances,’ I said. ‘Mine and Buckley’s.’.
[Aus]D. Stivens Jimmy Brockett 144: Sadie had Buckley’s of getting much of a run with her exhibition or my name wasn’t Jimmy Brockett.
[NZ]I. Hamilton Till Human Voices Wake Us 204: Your protest has Buckley’s chance of being noticed.
[Aus]F.B. Vickers Mirage (1958) 251: He ain’t got Buckley’s chance.
[Aus]S. Gore Holy Smoke 12: Tryin’ to kid us into a brawl where we wouldn’t have Buckley’s?
[Aus]J. O’Grady It’s Your Shout, Mate! 35: You’d have a Buckley’s chance of gettin’ them to agree.
[Aus]C. Bowles G’DAY 51: DAVO: Reckon the Windies are omen osed. LES: Yeah, we got Buckley’s.
[NZ]McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 22/1: Buckley’s short for Buckley’s chance, which is no chance; after mid-C19 Australian outlaw who was reckoned to have no chance of escape, though other explanations exist.
[Aus]L. Davies Candy 36: Buckley’s chance, mate. Buckley’s. There’s nothing open now.
D. Shaw ‘Dead Beard’ at www.asstr.org 🌐 For a second or two I do a scene in the back of my head with me in a born and bred with Dionne and Monica, but knowing Monica, I’ve got buckleys.
[Aus]P. Carey Theft 78: We had Buckley’s chance, but I edged the ute out of the grass.
[Aus]G. Gilmore Base Nature [ebook] ‘I’ve Buckley’s of winning a second time’.
[Aus]P. Papathanasiou Stoning 118: ‘We’ve now got Buckley’s, no chance, if this ever goes before a judge or jury’.