GAMES OF GAMBLING AND CARDS :

In the early days of this country, plantation owners in the southern colonies brought with them from England the English leisured class love of games. They played cards, bet on their horses and indulged in cockfighting competitions, as well as other gambling activities. Although, restrictions were placed on games during and after the War of Independence they didn't disappear and reemerged as new immigrants arrived and the frontier expanded westward beyond the original colonies. Games and the gambling, as well as the ability to work hard, went with the settlers. Bets were placed on horse and foot races, on shooting contests, wrestling matches and log-rolling, as well as on other competitions. As new settlers moved further west towards and beyond the Rocky Mountains, the games and the gambling went with them. Every western town had its saloon. Here the miners and cowboys played cards, gambled and drank alcoholic beverages after hard weeks or months in the mines and on the range. Today there are numerous casinos for gambling, state organized lotteries and church bingo games, as well as private and individual games.

As a result of this American indulgence in betting and card playing, American English is permeated with idioms derived from these activities:

"You bet I will." and "You can count on it." means I will definitely do the job, that you can bet money on it and not lose your money. That's a "gooddeal" means not only that I got a good hand in cards, but a good transaction in a personal or business matter. If something bad happens, it's a "bad deal". Many of the terms have entered the conduct of international relations, so that a Russian government official, the head of a Mediterranean nation, a far Eastern nation will each use the term "lay our, your or their cards on the table" when talking about negotiating terms.

CARD GAMES:

IDIOM: deal (noun)

MEANING 1: a hand in card playing; one round of playing in the card game
SENTENCE 1: Please finish the deal.

MEANING 2: a business transaction which is being negotiated or is finished; a bargain.
SENTENCE 2: Let's work together on that financial deal. It's a deal.

IDIOM: deal (verb)

MEANING 1: to distribute the cards; the dealer hands out the cards to the players
SENTENCE 1: Please deal the cards.

MEANING 2: to have, to do, to have business relations; to behave
SENTENCE 2: He deals justly with his business clients. President Bush dealt the United Nations into his invasion.

IDIOM: call a spade a spade

MEANING 1: to call a card of the spade suit a spade
SENTENCE 1: This idiom, derived from cards, is not used in card playing.

MEANING 2: to speak directly and frankly about something or someone
SENTENCE 2: Let's call a spade a spade and stop avoiding the issue. We don't have the money in the budget to buy that new car.

IDIOM: hold all the aces

MEANING 1: An ace is the highest card in each suit. To hold all the aces gives one a distinct advantage.
SENTENCE 1: They scored a grand slam in bridge last night. Her partner held all the aces.

MEANING 2: to have an advantage
SENTENCE 2: After the Second World War the United States held all the aces in developing a space program and advanced nuclear technology.

IDIOM: play your card (cards)

MEANING 1: to place a card or cardson the table from one's hand of cards so the game can continue
SENTENCE 1: Please play your card. I'm tired of waiting.

MEANING 2: to perform or play skillfully
SENTENCE 2: If you play your cards right, Rebecca, you'll get the job

IDIOM: to put your cards on the table

MEANING 1: to show your hand
SENTENCE 1: In poker when the bets are final, the remaining players show their cards.

MEANING 2: to not hide anything
SENTENCE 2: We're putting our cards on the table for you to see; we'll pay $250,000 for the building.

IDIOM: have the cards stacked against one

MEANING 1: One's opponent has an illegal hand.
SENTENCE 1: I have the cards stacked against me. You've been cheating.

MEANING 2: to have a disadvantage
SENTENCE 2: The homeless have the cards stacked against them. How to Play the Game

IDIOM: play the trump card

MEANING 1: to play a card in the trump or most powerful suit
SENTENCE 1: My trump card will take your ace.

MEANING 2: to try to win by using something powerful
SENTENCE 2: Play your trump card. Tell them we can get financing in two weeks.

IDIOM: under the table

MEANING 1: to keep illegal cards or dice under the table in order to cheat at cards
SENTENCE 1: The dealer was dishonest. He kept extra loaded dice under the table.

MEANING 2: to hide something, usually illegally; to cheat
SENTENCE 2: In order to avoid taxes, they transferred the deed under the table.

IDIOM: playing it close to the chest, close to the vest, holds his cards close to the chest

MEANING 1: to hold your cards close to your chest, so no one can see them
SENTENCE 1: He didn't want the others to see his cards, so he played them close to his chest.

MEANING 2: to not reveal your strategy
SENTENCE 2: Let's play it close to the chest. Don't show the murder weapon to the jury until later.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, Colin L. Powell sat at his desk as "H" hour approached, 7 p.m. U.S. time, 3 a.m. Saudi time. Checking final details of "Operation Desert Storm", he realized it was time to stop. "Metaphors of gambling went through his mind. Poker. It was high stakes. They were using all their advantages technology, superior intelligence, a plan that looked and sounded nearly perfect. All the odds were on his side. Almost a sure thing; but still, as in poker, he knew there was uncertainty.

Craps. The country was at the table and the dice had been thrown. This was the moment of waiting, the dice in midair. Soon they would hit the cloth and arrive at the far end, crash and come abruptly to rest."
Woodward, Bob, The Commanders, p. 374

GAMBLING:

IDIOM: above board

MEANING 1: to hold all your cards above the table; to not control a gambling game with anything hidden.
SENTENCE 1: The dealer said, "All cards above board, please."

MEANING 2: to be honest, forthright, tell the truth
SENTENCE 2: We want everything above board in this discussion.

DERIVATION: Gambling devices were sometimes controlled under the table giving the game owner an advantage.

IDIOM: no great shakes

MEANING 1: to not get a good roll of dice after shaking them
SENTENCE 1: You didn't get any great shake with that roll.

MEANING 2: not really important
SENTENCE 2: I like John, but he really isn't any great shakes.

IDIOM: get, give a fair shake

MEANING 1: to shake the dice without cheating
SENTENCE 1: I hope the dealer will shake the dice fairly.

MEANING 2: to treat someone evenly, to be fair
SENTENCE 2: Do the poor in this country get a fair shake?

IDIOM: chip in

MEANING 1: to bet by putting more chips into the "pot" or the betting pool
SENTENCE 1: She had a straight flush, so she chipped in twenty more dollars.

MEANING 2: to contribute some money to a cause or a busines
SENTENCE 2: If we are going to expand this business, we need more capital. See if you can get another firm to chip in ten million.

IDIOM: to cash in one's chips

MEANING 1: to take one's gambling chips to the teller for money
SENTENCE 1: want to cash in my chips now, before I lose any more money.

MEANING 2: to sell something for a profit
SENTENCE 2: The stock market is too high. Let's sell our stocks and cash in our chips.

IDIOM: to get the upper hand

MEANING 1: to win or begin a sport by having the last hand hold on a stick or a bat
SENTENCE 1: Johnny got the upper hand and said he wanted to bat.

MEANING 2: to have an advantage
SENTENCE 2: The development of the nuclear bomb gave the United States the upper hand in the Second World War.

DERIVATION: This dates back to the medieval gambling practice of throwing a stick to your opponent who would catch and hold it. Players would alternate hands around the stick until one won by having "the upper hand" on the stick, no room being left for another hand.

IDIOM: get (have) the short end of the stick

MEANING 1: to be at a disadvantage in playing the game as above
SENTENCE 1: I got the short end of the stick.

MEANING 2: to get (have) less than one thinks one should have; to feel cheated
SENTENCE 2: I always get the short end of the stick.

DERIVATION:

IDIOM: checkmate

MEANING 1: the king in chess cannot move or he is captured and the game is won
SENTENCE 1: She won the game after checkmating her opponent's king.

MEANING 2: to put someone is a position where they must lose
SENTENCE 2: Kuwait was in a checkmate position when Iraq massed troops on her border.

DERIVATION: This term, used in the ancient game of chess, derives from the Arabic, "Shah mat!" ( The king is dead), then Spanish, "xaque mate", then French, "eschec mat", then early English, "chek mate".

IDIOM: throw good money after bad

MEANING 1: to continue to gamble after losing
SENTENCE 1: You are going to throw good money after bad if you continue to play the lottery.

MEANING 2: to continue to waste money , to continue to do something when it hasn't worked
SENTENCE 2: Why don't you buy a new car? You are throwing good money after bad when you spend money for repairs for that old car.

IDIOM: take a chance

MEANING 1: to buy a ticket or "chance" on a prize
SENTENCE 1: I'll take a chance on winning that stuffed bear at the carnival.

MEANING 2: to try something that is not certain or sure
SENTENCE 2: I'll take a chance on buying that stock. The earnings appear good.

IDIOM: knuckle down
marbles, any rolling ball game

MEANING 1: to mark the exact place before shooting the marble or ball by putting one's knuckles at this spot.
SENTENCE 1: Please knuckle down before you shoot that marble.

MEANING 2: to work hard
SENTENCE 2: Knuckle down to work. You're talking too much.

DERIVATION: From the game of marbles: a player had to "knuckle down"by another player if he moved his marble before shooting it. The following are some interesting idioms which are probably related to cards and gambling, but it is difficult to be sure of the derivation.

IDIOM: the upside

MEANING 2: the good things about something
SENTENCE 2: The upside about the joint venture is the talent we'll gain.

IDIOM: the downside

MEANING 2: the bad things about something
SENTENCE 2: The downside is the amount of money we'll need to loan.

IDIOM: play into someone's hands
MEANING 2: to give someone an advantage
SENTENCE 2: If you reveal the missile sites, you'll play into the enemy's hands.

IDIOM: across the board
MEANING 2: equally for everyone, everyone gets the same
SENTENCE 2: The new president will ask for resignations across the board.

IDIOM: go by the board

MEANING 1: follow the rules of the game
SENTENCE 1: Please go by the board. You advanced too far.

MEANING 2: bending the rules
SENTENCE 2: Did Enron go by the board? They bent the financial disclosure rules.