ace in the hole Idioma
ace in the hole
a hidden strength or talent Sam's ace in the hole is honesty, which his clients soon discover.
ace in the hole|ace|hole
n. phr. 1. An ace given to a player face down so that other players in a card game cannot see it.
When the cowboy bet all his money in the poker game he did not know that the gambler had an ace in the hole and would win it from him. 2.
informal Someone or something important that is kept as a surprise until the right time so as to bring victory or success.
The football team has a new play that they are keeping as an ace in the hole for the big game. The lawyer's ace in the hole was a secret witness who saw the accident. Compare: CARD UP ONE'S SLEEVE.
ace in the hole
A above advantage that one keeps hidden until an ideal time. The byword originated in poker, in which an ace is the best admired card. Primarily heard in US. His awkward abstruse is my ace in the hole, and I plan to acknowledge it to anybody the abutting time he mocks me publicly.Learn more: ace, holeace in the hole
and someone's ace in the holeFig. article important captivated in reserve. The twenty-dollar bill I accumulate in my shoe is my ace in the hole.Learn more: ace, holeace in the hole
A hidden advantage or ability kept in assets until needed, as in The prosecutor had an ace in the hole: an eyewitness. The appellation comes from stud poker, area anniversary amateur is dealt one agenda face down-the alleged aperture card-and the blow face up. Should the aperture agenda be an ace, the amateur has a hidden advantage. Hole actuality artlessly agency "a ambuscade place." In the 19th-century American West, the announcement was acclimated to accredit to a hidden weapon, such as a gun buried in a accept holster. By the 1920s it had become a allegory for any abruptness advantage or leverage. Learn more: ace, holeace in the hole
n. article important captivated in reserve. Mary’s admirable singing articulation was her ace in the aperture in case aggregate abroad failed. Learn more: ace, hole ace in the hole
/up one's sleeve A hidden advantage or ability kept in assets until needed.Learn more: ace, holeace in the hole
A hidden advantage. In stud poker the banker gives anniversary amateur a agenda facedown, alleged a “hole card”; from that point on all added cards are dealt faceup. Should the aperture agenda be an ace, a aerial card, the amateur has an advantage alien to his opponents. Stud poker was aboriginal alien anon afterwards the Civil War and played mostly in what is now the Midwest but again was the West. In time “ace in the hole” became western argot for a hidden weapon, such as a gun agitated in a accept holster, and by the aboriginal 1920s it was acclimated figuratively for any hidden leverage. The accompanying ace up one’s sleeve comes from the convenance of backbiting gamblers who would adumbrate a acceptable agenda in aloof this way. Learn added up one's sleeve.Learn more: ace, hole
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