[Idiom] I should be so lucky

[licinio]

I've heard this phrase (I should be so lucky) used ironically, but I'm not sure I got the right meaning. I've tried using it in a sentence of an article I've written. Could you please confirm it is correct?

If I wanted excitement, I should be so lucky having a surge of adrenaline now flowing in my veins.

If more context is required, please refer to the above link that contains the whole story.

Thanks.

 

[Afit]

An ironic or quasi-subjunctive use of should is current in certain Yiddishisms, especially in

AmE:
I should talk. [I shouldn't talk!]
I should worry. [Why should I worry?]
I should be so lucky. [I'm unlucky.]

Quirk et al.

If I wanted excitement, I should be so lucky having a surge of adrenaline now flowing in my veins.

I do not think that is fine, not so in logical terms at least.

 

[Afit]

If I wanted excitement, I should be so lucky having a surge of adrenaline now flowing in my veins.

I could not manage to spot this sentence in your relatively long article. Could you, please, paraphrase this sentence so that I would get a picture of the idea you are trying to convey.

 

[Barb_D]

Here is how it is usually used:

A person is complaining about things. He is so animated in his description of his troubles that he doesn't notice he's about to step off the curb and into the street.

His companion pulls him back and says "Be careful! You could get run over by a truck!"

He says, "I should be so lucky!"

That means that being run over by a truck would be preferable to continuing on his current state of woes. As you say, it's used ironically. He doesn't really think it would be lucky to die and he's not suicidal.

It's generally used to talk about a bad thing that no one would really consider lucky.

Your use is not very natural. It WOULD be helpful to have a surge of adrenaline when you have a lot to do, so the ironic nature of the expression is lost.

 

[licinio]

Thanks all. I agree I have not written a very logical sentence. Maybe I could say (ironically):

If I wanted excitement, I could consider myself so lucky having a surge of adrenaline now flowing in my veins.

PS the sentence is at the beginning of the fourth paragraph.

 

[bhaisahab]

Thanks all. I agree I have not written a very logical sentence. Maybe I could say (ironically):

If I wanted excitement, I could consider myself so lucky having a surge of adrenaline now flowing in my veins.

PS the sentence is at the beginning of the fourth paragraph.

I can't open your link, but your sentence is not clear. Perhaps you mean this: "If I wanted excitement, I could consider myself lucky to have a surge of adrenaline flowing in my veins."

 

[licinio]

That's what I meant, thanks. I've replaced the sentence in the article!