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trump card

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trump card

  [truhmp kahrd for 1; truhmp kahrd for 2] .
Use trump card in a Sentence
–noun
1. Cards. trump 1 (def. 1a).
2. Informal. something that gives one person or group the advantage over another: The surprise witness was his trump card.
Origin:
1815–25
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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trump card  
n.  

  1. Games A card in the trump suit, held in reserve for winning a trick.

  2. A key resource to be used at an opportune moment; a trump: "[They] seem determined to use the agreement as a trump card to obtain ... all the advantages they feel they deserve" (Christian Science Monitor).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

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 American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

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® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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