Wordsmith Talk |
About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us | |||
Register Log In Wordsmith.org Forums General Topics Miscellany Left in the lurch
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
OP He left me in the lurch. Have you ever wondered what or where this lurch was? Me too. So I finally looked it up in my trusty ol' Webster's Unabridged. Of the several "lurch" entries (none of which involve the Addams' family butler), this phrase draws its meaning from
lurch ... [MF lourche, n., a game & lourche, adj. deceived, prob. of Gmc origin; akin to MHG lerz, lurz left, located on the left side ... 1 an act or instance of cheating; ... 2 an act or instance of discomfiture ...
And, as Dr Bill already noted (http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=76153):
3a: a decisive defeat in which a player wins a game by more than twice his opponent's score; specif a defeat in which a player wins a cribbage game before his opponent has progressed halfway toward the goal
I have played cribbage for many years, and I've never heard "lurch" used in this context. 'Round these parts, if you beat the opposition soundly, you skunk 'em; if you beat them by double the score, you double skunk 'em.
Entire Thread Subject Posted By Posted Left in the lurch Sparteye 08/09/05 04:19 PM Re: Left in the lurch tsuwm 08/09/05 05:47 PM Re: Left in the lurch Zed 08/09/05 07:01 PM Re: Left in the lurch tsuwm 08/09/05 07:20 PM Re: Left in the lurch Sparteye 08/10/05 12:58 AM Re: Left in the lurch Zed 08/10/05 06:21 PM That Lowdown skunk! consuelo 08/25/05 06:38 AM
Moderated by Jackie
Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics Forums16Topics13,912Posts229,283Members9,179 Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now 0 members (), 444 guests, and 3 robots. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days) A C Bowden 17
Top Posters wwh 13,858Faldage 13,803Jackie 11,613tsuwm 10,542wofahulicodoc 10,510LukeJavan8 9,916Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210AnnaStrophic 6,511Wordwind 6,296of troy 5,400
Forum Rules · Mark All Read Contact Us · Forum Help · Wordsmith.org