Keep your cards close

Bridge, has its origins in Whist - a game whose very name is a call for silence since the 15th century. Players, while socialising, also adopt an etiquette of silence for bidding and play- its part of the whole philosophy of the game.

"Whisht", where I was reared, is still a friendly interjection meaning "hush" or "be quiet". The Ulster Scot might ask you to "houl yer whisht", dating even further back into the 14th century.

Playing cards originated in China beginning with fortune telling and gambling in the 1100s. Saint Bernardo (1432) warned the 'faithful' that cards were invented by the devil. Henry VII (1495) forbade his servants from playing cards except during the Christmas holiday.

Two weeks ago, I started to learn bridge - after two weeks I know three things- always count your cards before you start, there are 40 points in a deck of cards, and my parents can work out an entire game before the first card is played.

I also have spent two classes realising how many expressions we use in daily life that are all rooted in the strategy, play and response of this and other card games.

suit (n.1300) and to follow suit

"set of matching garments" worn by such persons, "matching livery or uniform;" From Anglo-French suit, siwete, from Old French suite, sieute "pursuit, act of following, hunt; retinue; assembly" from Vulgar Latin sequita, fem. of sequitus, sequi "to attend, follow" (from ProtoIndoEuropean root sekw "to follow"By late 14c. in reference to any matched set of objects; the meaning "row, series, sequence"

To follow suit (1670s) - from card playing - so lesson one - my bridge tutor said- so Una- follow suit - in trick-taking games, such as bridge to follow suit is to play a card that is the same suit as the card played to lead the trick.

Trump card

Probably another obvious one - but the trump card is a decisive overriding factor or final resource. It refers to a card of any suit that ranks higher than any card of any of the other suits, Since such cards are deployed strategically, the term suggests an option or weapon held in reserve.

Above Board

If follow suit and trump card are obvious; above board is not. Meaning "in a straightforward manner" or honest, The noun board once meant "table" and later came to refer to the exposed hands in a game of stud poker, or the dummy's exposed hand in a game of bridge. To play "above board" was to keep one's hands above the level of the playing table, so as to avoid suspicion of cheating.

In Spades

To have something in spades means to have it in great amount; to do something in spades means to do it to an extreme degree. It has nothing to do with the amount a shovel might hold. In contract bridge, the cards marked with spades have the highest value.

A New deal, a Better deal, a bum deal

It seemed to me that what the nine hundred and ninety-four dupes needed was a new deal.— Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, 1889

Forcing my hand - keeps things close to their chest

I had such a great hand but I could not play it in the order I wanted to and I lost my advantage. The strategic actions of a competitor "forced my hand" , ( and I was raging!)

Left in the Lurch

Used chiefly in cribbage, lurch refers to a decisive defeat in which an opponent wins a game by more than double the defeated player's score. In Middle French, the word lourche described a game similar to backgammon, from which arose the use of the same term for such ignoble defeat.

Showdown

The "show" in showdown comes from poker, referring to the moment in the game when players place their cards faceup on the table to determine the winner of a pot.

Card games were once the social fabric that held communities together which is probably why you can find so many sayings in life that are related to the rules, conventions and outcomes - why you should take up cards today-

Bill Gates can have the last word in this article- Bridge is one of the last games in which the computer is not better