It's better to be lucky than wise.

The saying observes that favorable chance can sometimes matter more to an outcome than intelligence, judgment, or careful planning. It highlights the limits of wisdom when events do not unfold as expected.

It can also qualify claims of personal merit after success, since good fortune may have played a decisive part. The contrast emphasizes luck's influence rather than arguing that wisdom has no value.

Used when a success, escape, or favorable result appears to owe more to chance than to expertise or sound decisions, especially when the outcome was difficult to predict or control.