blackjack
English meaning: Blackjack
Definition
A common gambling card game in casinos, where the object is to get as close to 21 without going over.
Example
“He spent the evening playing blackjack at the casino tables.”
Another example: “The robber threatened the clerk with a leather blackjack.”
Usage — When, Where & How
Neutral to informal; chiefly a noun for the popular casino card game (also called twenty-one), and also a short club or cosh used as a weapon. Common in gambling, casino and (dated) crime contexts. As a verb, to hit with a cosh or to coerce.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From 'black' + 'jack'; the weapon sense (19th century) refers to its dark colour, and the card-game name derives from a winning hand.
Synonyms
- sap
- pressure
- blackmail
- cosh
- vingt-et-un
- twenty-one
- blackjack oak
- jack oak
- quercus marilandica
Related Words
- craps
- baccarat
- roulette
- keno
- mulligan
- gow
- bankroll
- poker
- marciano
- pai
Common Collocations
- play blackjack
- blackjack table
- blackjack dealer
- beat the dealer at blackjack
- blackjack strategy
Word Forms
blackjack (n & v); blackjacks (pl); blackjacked; blackjacking
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B