Useful words

[pilowsky]

My first card game was rummy, which my Bobe taught me sitting at a little table at the front of the Bazaar. She always won. As a teenager, I played chess. Chess has some great words. Why waste. Also, why not cannibalise some German words and put them to good use.

Here's a start.

• Scoredenfreude - the pleasure that you take when you get positive imps, or more than 50% because the opponents made a terrible mistake. This mostly applies when your own running total is abysmal.
• Zugzwang - A card that you play to put the opponents into an impossible position - like endplay, but harder to pronounce.
• Zwischenzug - in-between move, For example, a card that you play in order to establish a suit while you still have stoppers in the other suits. A great word because it's much harder to pronounce than Zugzwang.
• Patzer - your partner if you score badly.
• Detritophagic - the look someone has when their partner passes a Texas transfer.

 

 

[Huibertus]

The best from Dutch

 

"Dwangneurose"

 

Dwang in bridge is Dutch for squeeze.

Neurose is neurosis.

Dwangneurose is the psychological disorder compulsive neurosis.

 

It is a word used for the player always looking out for a squeeze even if alternative plays offer three times the chance of succes. I used to have such a partner one time, very tiring...

[nullve]

Castling sort of works in bridge if you're a Norwegian.

 

E.g.

 

♣KQJT

 

|

v

 

♣KQ_T

 

|

v

 

♣K__T

 

|

v

 

♣_TK_

 

('T' is Norwegian chess notation for 'tårn' (eng.: 'rook').)