old maid

old maid
1. Usually Disparaging and Offensive. an elderly or confirmed spinster.
2. a fussy, timid, prudish person.
3. Cards.
a. a simple game, played with a deck having one card removed, in which the players draw from one another to match pairs and the one holding an odd queen at the end loses.
b. the loser of such a game.
[1520-30]

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      simple card game popular with young children. It takes its name from a 19th-century specially illustrated deck of cards showing colourful characters in matching pairs, plus a single old maid card. In Germany the equivalent game is called schwarzer Peter (“black Peter”) and in France vieux garçon (“old boy”).

      Two or more can play with a standard 52-card deck from which one black queen is discarded. The cards are then dealt around one at a time as far as they will go. It does not matter if some players have one more card than others. Each player starts by discarding any paired cards from in hand.

      That done, each player in turn presents his cards facedown to the player on his left, who draws one card and adds it to his own hand. If it matches a card he already has, he discards the new pair, shuffles his remaining cards, and presents them in turn, facedown, to the player on his left. Play continues in this way, each person in turn drawing a card from the player on his right, until only the odd queen remains. Whoever holds it is the “old maid” and loses the game.

      Like most games supposedly for children, old maid derives from a drinking game—that is, one played to decide who should buy the next round of drinks.

David Parlett

Additional Reading
Reliable sources for rules include Joli Quentin Kansil (ed.), Bicycle Official Rules of Card Games (2002); David Parlett, The A–Z of Card Games, 2nd ed. (2004; 1st ed. published as Oxford Dictionary of Card Games, 1992); and Barry Rigal, Card Games for Dummies, 2nd ed. (2005).

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Old maid — Maid Maid, n. [Shortened from maiden. ?. See {Maiden}.] 1. An unmarried woman; usually, a young unmarried woman; esp., a girl; a virgin; a maiden. [1913 Webster] Would I had died a maid, And never seen thee, never borne thee son. Shak. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Old maid — Old Old, a. [Compar. {Older}; superl. {Oldest}.] [OE. old, ald, AS. ald, eald; akin to D. oud, OS. ald, OFries. ald, old, G. alt, Goth. alpeis, and also to Goth. alan to grow up, Icel. ala to bear, produce, bring up, L. alere to nourish. Cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • old maid — old maids N COUNT (disapproval) People sometimes refer to an old or middle aged woman as an old maid when she has never married and they think that it is unlikely that she ever will marry. This use could cause offence. Alex is too young to be… …   English dictionary

  • old-maid — old maid·ish·ness; old maid·ish·ly; …   English syllables

  • old maid — old′ maid′ n. 1) off usu. disp. an elderly or confirmed spinster 2) a fussy, timid, prudish person 3) gam a simple card game, played with a deck having one card removed, in which players match pairs, the loser being the holder of the odd card,… …   From formal English to slang

  • old maid — noun count 1. ) an insulting word for an older woman who has not been married and is unlikely to get married 2. ) INFORMAL someone who has old fashioned opinions and is too worried about small details ╾ ,old maidish adjective …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • old maid — n old fashioned not polite an offensive word for a woman who has never married and is not young any more = ↑spinster …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • old maid — ► NOUN 1) derogatory a single woman regarded as too old for marriage. 2) a prim and fussy person. 3) a card game in which players collect pairs and try not to be left with an odd penalty card, typically a queen …   English terms dictionary

  • old maid — n. 1. a woman, esp. an older woman, who has never married; spinster: a mild term of contempt 2. a prim, prudish, fussy person 3. a simple card game played with a deck containing one card with no match, the loser being the player left with that… …   English World dictionary

  • Old Maid — Infobox CardGame title = Old Maid subtitle = Also: Queen of Spades, Chase the Ace image link = image caption = alt names = type = players = 3+ ages = num cards = 49, 51, or 53 play = Clockwise card rank = origin = related = playing time = random… …   Wikipedia

  • Old Maid — Historische Schwarzer Peter Karten Schwarzer Peter ist neben Quartett das am weitesten verbreitete Kartenspiel für Kinder. Die Redewendung „jemandem den Schwarzen Peter zuschieben“ bedeutet, jemand anderen etwas Unangenehmes tun zu l …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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