Word of the Day

: January 22, 2013

euchre

play

verb YOO-ker

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What It Means

1 : to prevent from winning three tricks in the card game euchre

2 : to cheat or trick

euchre in Context

"'You fooled us good,' Frank confessed. 'After Northfield, Jesse knew we'd been euchred somehow. But I wouldn't have suspected you in a thousand years.'" - From Matt Braun's 2008 novel Manhunter / Deadwood

"He'd never held a pick or shovel in those waxy white hands. His principal business was euchring anyone who was sucker enough to do business with him." - From Richard S. Wheeler's 2005 novel Seven Miles to Sundown

Did You Know?

Euchre is a card game for four players that is played in tricks, or rounds, with a deck of 32 cards. Etymologists aren't sure where we got the name for the game, though they do know that it first appeared in English in the mid-19th century. The first sense of the verb "euchre" arose from an action that takes place during the game: a player is "euchred" when an opponent blocks him or her from winning three or more tricks after making trump. Deception can often be key to a winning strategy, and sure enough it took almost no time at all for "euchre" to develop a sense meaning "cheat" or "trick."