"The $x/y$ notation is confusing - these ratios ..."

In other words, given odds of $(x : y)$ we can scale it by any positive number $\\alpha$ to get equivalent odds of $(\\alpha x : \\alpha y).$ When there are only two terms $x$ and $y$ in a set of odds, the odds can be written as a ratio $\\frac{x}{y}.$ It is understood that the odds ratio $\\frac{x}{y}$ refers to the odds $(x : y),$ or, equivalently, $\\left(\\frac{x}{y} : 1\\right).$

The $x/y$ notation is confusing - these ratios aren't probabilities are they?