in/on the cards

[Randy Alexander]

A British friend just said "I've looked into licensing it, but that
doesn't seem to be on the cards."

I've never heard "on the cards" before, but he found this:

Likely or certain to happen, as in "I don't think Jim will win,
it's just not in the cards." This term, originally put as *on the cards*,
alludes to the cards used in fortune-telling. [Early 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.

Any thoughts, or more specific references?

--
Randy Alexander
Jilin City, China
Blogs:
Manchu studies: http://www.bjshengr.com/manchu
Chinese characters: http://www.bjshengr.com/yuwen

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