deuce1
/djuːs
/- The deuce of each suit is called the sow (die Sau).
- The dealer gave her a deuce and she jumped from fifth place to second place and earned $22,000 in doing so.
- Let's say everybody is dealt a bunch of small cards and the dealer has a deuce up.
- If he should now throw 2 deuces for a total of 5, the player then throws all five dice for the third throw.
- Sure enough, I handed over a twenty and said "two please", back came three fresh Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond deuces.
- The Legal Tender deuces have always held a special attraction to collectors.
- Federer was in the sort of form which took him to the Wimbledon title this year, with Blake staving off an amazing 19 out of 20 break-point opportunities, and surviving 10 deuces in one service game.
- They had a match point in the semi-final against the Cantrells, but Burdett served a double fault on the sudden-death second deuce in which this point is decisive under the rules of the competition designed to prevent drawn-out matches.
- I believe that happens during a deuce when the server has just won a point, and if he or she wins the next point the game is theirs.
Origin
Late 15th century: from Old French deus 'two', from Latin duos.
The two different meanings of deuce both come from Latin duus ‘two’, by different routes. The earliest meaning, from the late 15th century, was ‘a throw of two at dice’. The immediate source was the French word for ‘two’ (modern deux). In the mid 17th century this was reinforced by German duus, meaning ‘bad luck or mischief’ and by association ‘the devil’. The connection arose because two is the worst or unluckiest throw you can have when playing with two dice. Expressions where deuce is interchangeable with devil (as in ‘where the deuce …’ or ‘a deuce of a…’) are now rather old-fashioned. In the late 16th century, deuce was a stage in the original form of tennis, now known as real tennis, which is played with a solid ball on an enclosed court. In real tennis deuce is five or more games all.
Rhymes
deuce2
/djuːs/- In 49th Parallel, who knows what the deuce he is doing, other than turning in what I believe to be the only bad performance in any Powell and Pressburger film.
- Well, what the deuce are you waiting for, old boy?
- I'm back and now you can ask me: What the deuce is Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo, anyway?
Phrases
a (or the) deuce of a ——
like the deuce
the deuce to pay
Origin
Mid 17th century: from Low German duus, probably of the same origin as deuce1 (two aces at dice being the worst throw).