beggar-my-neighbour
Definition
Noun: A simple, competitive card game for two players. The objective is to win all of the cards from the opponent's deck through a series of direct challenges and captures.
Usage
This term is used as the name of the specific card game. It functions as a singular, uncountable noun when referring to the game itself. * They spent the afternoon playing beggar-my-neighbour. * Do you know the rules for beggar-my-neighbour?
Examples
- As children, we often played beggar-my-neighbour during long car journeys.
- The simplicity of beggar-my-neighbour makes it easy for beginners to learn.
- In beggar-my-neighbour, players take turns placing cards until a face card appears, which must then be covered by the opponent.
Advanced Usage
- Metaphorical Use: The term can be used metaphorically to describe a situation, policy, or strategy where one party's gain is directly and destructively dependent on another's loss, resembling a zero-sum competition.
- The trade war devolved into a beggar-my-neighbour policy that harmed both economies.
- The company's aggressive pricing was a beggar-my-neighbour tactic designed to drive competitors out of business.
Variants and Related Words
- Beggar-my-neighbor: The American English spelling variant.
- Strip Jack Naked: A common alternative name for the same game in some regions.
- War: Another simple two-player card game with a similar concept of capturing cards, though with different rules.
Synonyms
- (For the game) Strip Jack Naked, Battle.
- (For the metaphorical concept) Zero-sum game, cutthroat competition, predatory policy.
Related Idioms
- A beggar-thy-neighbor policy: This is the standard idiomatic phrase in economics and politics, using the archaic "thy" (your). It describes a protectionist strategy where a country attempts to benefit itself at the direct expense of other nations, often through tariffs or currency devaluation.
- Economists warned that imposing high tariffs would be a short-sighted beggar-thy-neighbor policy.
Noun
-
a card game for two players in which the object is to win all of the other player's cards
Khám phá thêm
Các từ liên quan
Từ đồng nghĩa
Từ gần giống
Từ chứa "beggar-my-neighbour"
