![]() The term "sharper" meant the same thing as "sharker" and has been dated to the later 1600s.Īs time has gone on, "card shark" has been used more often in its positive sense to refer to someone who is skilled at cards. However, the word "sharker" dates as far back as the late 1500s and referred to a person who lived by cheating or being dishonest. The word "card shark" first appeared a few decades later, in the 1870s, and referred either to a person skilled at card games or a person who cheated at cards. However, the word “sharker” refers to someone who cheats or is dishonest, but the word “shark” can have either a positive or negative connotation depending on the context.Īccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, the words "cardsharp," "card-sharper," and "card-sharping" date as far back as the 1840s and refer to someone who cheats at cards. “Card shark” can refer to a person who is good at playing cards without cheating or a person who cheats at cards. The words “cardsharper” or “cardsharping” have the same, or similar, meaning, as does the word “sharper.” However, the word “sharp” in some contexts, can be a compliment and a positive description of something or someone. “Cardsharp” is often defined as someone who cheats at card games. In those two instances, why were two different words-"sharp" and "shark"-used to refer to the same thing: a cheater? McCain says, "We shoot card sharks in this part of the country, mister," and the cheater runs out. Since there’s only one ace of spades in a deck, one of them cheated and viewers know who it was. Then, Jones lays down four of a kind in aces, which includes an ace of spades. From the camera angle, viewers see his opponent pull an ace of spades from inside his jacket to complete a royal flush. 19), which is what he called people who cheated, or were suspected of cheating, at cards.Ī 1960s western television show called "The Rifleman" is also set in the mid-1880s. In one episode of a 1960s western television show called "The Rifleman," which is also set in the mid-1880s, Lucas McCain (played by Chuck Connors) walks into a saloon in fictional North Fork, New Mexico, and sees his friend Lariat Jones (played by Richard Anderson) in a card game. For one thing, Art is surprised he doesn’t hear anyone being called a "card sharp" (p. They enter a saloon and almost everything seems normal with men drinking and playing cards, but something doesn’t seem quite right. The story opens with Art Croft and Gil Carter riding into the fictional town of Bridger’s Wells, Nevada. "The Ox-Bow Incident," published in 1940, is a western novel set in the year 1885. Sometimes a cheater is called a "card sharp" and other times a "card shark." Which one is correct? Western novels, movies, and television shows regularly contain scenes of men in saloons playing cards-and cheating at cards.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |