Black Maria
- noun
- UK
:
Black Maria
- In Black Maria, players must be careful not to win tricks that contain hearts or the queen of spades.
Examples
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In Black Maria, picking up the queen of spades can ruin your whole game.
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We spent the evening playing Black Maria with our friends.
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She taught her grandchildren how to play Black Maria during the holidays.
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Have you ever played Black Maria?
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Yesterday, we enjoyed a game of Black Maria.
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During family gatherings, we often play Black Maria to pass the time and have fun.
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If you want to challenge your friends, invite them to play Black Maria with you.
Synonyms
2
4.9
A card game for four players where you try to avoid taking tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
Surface Forms
Morphology
black + Maria
The term 'Black Maria' is a conventional proper-name label for a specific card-game variant, and its meaning (a form of whist with penalty cards) cannot be derived from the parts. Knowing 'black' (a color) and 'Maria' (a personal name) gives no clue that the expression refers to a card game, so a B1 learner would not be able to predict the meaning from the constituents.
Etymology
The card game Black Maria may get its name from an old, feared police wagon called the 'Black Maria'. In the game the queen of spades is the dangerous card players try not to win. So the name came to mean that bad card and the whole game, like trying to avoid being 'taken away' by the wagon.