punchboard
Noun: A punchboard is a gambling device consisting of a board or card perforated with many small holes. Each hole is filled with a rolled or folded slip of paper. A player pays money for the chance to push or "punch" out one slip with a stylus, hoping it reveals a winning symbol or number that entitles them to a prize.
The word punchboard is used to refer specifically to this type of chance-based game. It is often discussed in historical contexts, discussions of gambling, or as a metaphor for random selection. - The old carnival game included a punchboard where you could win a cigar. - He won a small prize from the charity punchboard.
- As a metaphor for random chance: The term can be used figuratively to describe any situation where an outcome is determined by luck from a set of concealed options.
- Choosing a startup to invest in felt like playing a punchboard.
- Punch board: An alternative spelling.
- Pull-tab: A related gambling device where players pull tabs on tickets to reveal symbols, often considered a modern evolution.
- Lottery ticket dispenser (conceptual, not a direct synonym)
- Gambling device
- Game of chance
The word punchboard does not have other common, distinct meanings. It refers exclusively to this specific gaming apparatus.
No common idioms are directly formed from the word punchboard.
- a small board full of holes; each hole contains a slip of paper with symbols printed on it; a gambler pays a small sum for the privilege of pushing out a slip in the hope of obtaining one that entitles him to a prize