trump card
Cards. trump1 (def. 1a).
Informal. something that gives one person or group the advantage over another: The surprise witness was his trump card.
Origin of trump card
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use trump card in a sentence
Friendship is the trump card in the movement for equality, not etiology.
Of course, the biggest trump card of all is Singh and Patel.
In “Starkville City Jail,” he made fun of an overly aggressive police force, but “San Quentin” was his trump card.
Excerpts From a New Johnny Cash Biography Capture His Iconoclastic Genius | Robert Hilburn | October 26, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIt would give Israeli leaders a trump card against internal demands for greater Palestinian rights and equality.
How Abbas Can Recognize A 'Jewish State' While Preserving Palestinian Rights | Jeremy Pressman | August 14, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTSanctions against Burma may remain in place for some time, since they are the trump card to push for further reforms.
Hillary Clinton Visits Burma Amidst Burmese Spring | Ron Gluckman | December 2, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Suddenly, as the Count dealt a king as trump card, he sprang to his feet knocking over the chair behind him.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeHe produced it with gentle ostentation, as one would a trump card.
Humour of the North | Lawrence J. BurpeeIn stock we had one trump card, and only one, and we played it many a time during that somewhat crowded day.
The Glory of The Coming | Irvin S. CobbThe story of that Limfjord charter was her trump card, and never failed to quell Soren's faint attempts at retort.
Dry Fish and Wet | Anthon Bernhard Elias NilsenStillness, absolute immobility, was the trump-card to be always played in the wilderness when in doubt.
Kings in Exile | Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts
Cultural definitions for trump card
In general, something capable of making a decisive difference when used at the right moment; in certain card games, trump is the suit designated as having precedence over the others: “The prosecutor was about to win the case, when the defense lawyer produced her trump card: an eyewitness who testified that the accused was nowhere near the scene of the crime.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with trump card
A key resource to gain an advantage at the opportune moment, as in That surprise witness was the defense's trump card, or She played her trump card, announcing that the Senator would speak. This expression transfers the trump card of games such as bridge, which can win over a card of another suit, to other kinds of advantage. [Early 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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