Poker Face Idiom Example
This week’s post is written by Sophie Jackson, a freelance journalist specialising in politics, modern history and pop culture. You can find her on Twitter.
Definition of poker face in the Idioms Dictionary. Poker face phrase. What does poker face expression mean? Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. 8 people chose this as the best definition of poker-face: A face lacking any interp. See the dictionary meaning, pronunciation, and sentence examples. A face on a person that shows no emotion, often called poker face because in the game of poker it would be foolish to show any emotional traits that might screw the game for you. Poker face is an idiom that first appeared in the 1870s. An idiom is a word, group of words or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is not easily deduced from its literal definition. We will examine the definition of the expression poker face, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences. Twenty Five Idioms about Keeping and Spilling Secrets. One of the reasons English is so difficult to learn is because it is a language full of idioms. An idiom is a combination of words that has a figurative meaning separate from the actual definitions of the words used.
Sophie contacted me a few weeks ago and asked if she could contribute an article on poker idioms to this blog. I was delighted and honoured she chose English with a Twist and was only too happy to agree. She chose the topic of poker as part of her research into the historical and cultural implications of gambling.
Since you, my readers, are no strangers to posts about game and sports idioms used in everyday English, I felt that Sophie’s article would fit in naturally.
So without further ado, I present you Sophie Jackson.
From its origins in early 19th century America, poker has evolved into a universally loved game played by all kinds of people. It’s not surprising that the game’s terminology has come to manifest itself in everyday language. Most of us aren’t even conscious of referencing the timeless betting game when we say phrases such as ‘raising the stakes’ or ‘hitting the jackpot’. Whether you’re ‘calling someone’s bluff’ or ‘’ , you might be surprised as to how many poker idioms you commonly use.
Here are 6 more idioms with poker connections.
1.“The Cold War made everyone fear a political showdown.” (Confrontation)
The term ‘showdown’ is often used to describe a moment of truth in which two or more people will face each other in a final confrontation. The word is often used in sports commentaries when there is a final match or fight, but can describe any kind of conclusive climax-stage of a competition. The term was popularized by poker, where ‘showdown’ refers to the moment players throw down their cards face upward, revealing who has the winning hand.
2.She went home around midnight. I followed suit and left shortly thereafter.
In simple terms, ‘follow suit’ means to copy the actions of someone else. The phrase originates from card games. In poker, cards in the same suit can result in a Flush, Straight Flush or Royal Flush.
It was the French who invented the modern suits popularly used in card decks today. Some believe each suit symbolises a social division of Medieval society. Hearts represent the clergy with its associations to virtue, Spades depict the spear of a weapon and therefore nobility, whilst Diamonds is associated to wealth and represent traders. Clubs, lastly, might represent clover leaves and harvest – therefore symbolising farmers and peasants.
3.“Mr Dale is an unusual candidate. He’d be a total wildcard in government.”
You might have heard someone describe an unpredictable factor in some situation as a ‘wildcard’. What they are referring to is an undeterminable or risky element which could affect the outcome of a situation. You might describe the weather as a wildcard if it is always changing. In card games, a wildcard can be any card from the deck (usually a joker) determined by all players to be ‘flexible’. If the wild card gets dealt (deal = shuffle and distribute a hand ofcards), players can then decide what the wildcard represents to best benefit their hand.
4.“The museum is great, but the kicker is you have to queue for hours to get in.”
Poker Face Idiom Example Sentence
Similar to a wildcard, a ‘kicker’ (US and Canadian slang) can be used to describe an unexpected, sometimes disadvantageous factor, for example a clause in a contract or as in the example above, a disadvantage.
In poker, the ‘kicker’ is the highest unused card in a hand. The kicker is only needed if there is a tie between players, in which case the kicker card will determine the outcome. If the two strongest players have identical hands, the winner is therefore determined depending on which player has the highest leftover card.
5. “Don’t pass the buck by blaming your colleague.”
‘Passing the buck’ is a common phrase which describes shifting responsibility in order to avoid blame or conflict. President Truman’s famous sign on his Oval Office desk stated ‘the buck stops here’, implying there was no place with greater responsibility than the White House. Though commonly used in everyday language, few people are aware that the term originates from poker.
Usually, the responsibility to deal cards in a poker game shifts from player to player each round. This is to ensure no single player ends up always having to be the first or last to bet. Today, dealer responsibility is typically symbolised with a simple ‘dealer button’, however in the past a hunting knife made out of buck’s horn is believed to have been used, hence ‘pass the buck’.
6. “David bought pizza for the event but we all chipped in”.
‘Chipping in’ means contributing money to cover part of an overall cost. Of course, chips represent cash in poker, as you have to place chips in the middle of the table to take part in the game. ‘Chip’ was a 19th century English slang word for ‘shilling’.
Poker is one of those games which has come to develop strong cultural ties and has, as such, influenced the way we speak. Maybe the next time you tell someone to ‘cash in yourchips’, ‘play their cards right’ or that they are‘poker -faced’, you’ll come to think how curious it is that the English language has incorporated such poker idioms into everyday speech.
Thank you, Sophie.
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Ciao for now
Shanthi
noun
Poker Face Idiom Examples
1An impassive expression that hides one's true feelings.
‘In Europe and North America, these display rules encourage vivid facial expressions of emotion; a poker face is generally regarded as dull or deceptive.’- ‘Scott hid his grin behind a poker face - something he'd learned from Johnny.’
- ‘When we express our goodwill, we usually use a smile or a welcoming expression, not just a political poker face.’
- ‘He looked like he was brooding, but was hiding it behind the perfect poker face.’
- ‘Without comment, he took the two cards he needed, hiding his contempt behind his poker face.’
- ‘When he told me, I kept my poker face, but my insides went away.’
- ‘He kept a poker face, reported the facts, and protected his sources.’
- ‘My question is, when you know the contestant is giving you the wrong answer and a lot of money is at stake, how do you keep your poker face?’
- ‘‘Now you're sure you know the rules’ I asked them over the top of my glasses with my sternest poker face.’
- ‘Maguire walks this line with great skill and an unbelievable poker face.’
- ‘He called his boss at the forwarding company ‘stoneman,’ because his boss has a poker face.’
- ‘Does he regularly practice his poker face in front of the mirror?’
- ‘Students usually keep a poker face because they don't want to be called on.’
- ‘It's a poker face that's required in this game, and I've never been much good at cards.’
- ‘The joy of it is in the sweat and butterflies, the clamped lips and steely eyes of the poker face.’
- ‘‘Done,’ he said simply, sporting his best poker face.’
- ‘‘Well,’ putting on her best poker face, Jennifer continued.’
- ‘Years of practice in maintaining a poker face allowed him to take in his stride the invasion of his office by young women in light, summer dresses and a tale about one of them digging up a fortune while creating a winter herb garden.’
- ‘The thing is, I still have to put my poker face up.’
- ‘My hands shook from fear but I kept my poker face.’
- 1.1A person with a poker face.