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Glite Dictionary
Little Joe

Little Joe

9.9
A slang name for the number four in dice games like craps
  • noun
  • Slang
translation icon : Cuatro
  • The dealer called out 'Little Joe!' as the dice landed on two and two.

Examples

  • He rolled a Little Joe and everyone cheered at the table.

  • Superstitious players believe a Little Joe can change the game's luck.

  • I rolled a Little Joe in the game last night.

  • Did you see that Little Joe I rolled?

  • He rolled a Little Joe during the game, and everyone celebrated the score.

  • In craps, rolling a Little Joe is often seen as lucky among players.

  • The player shouted 'Little Joe!' when he rolled two fours on the dice.

Synonyms

4
vsLittle Joe
∞ 1.0

The number that comes after three and before five

is an informal gambling term used for that number
IV
vsLittle Joe
76 1.0

A Roman numeral for the number four

is a slang gambling name used in speech not a written symbol
four
vsLittle Joe
50 1.0

A card, die, or domino that shows four spots

is an informal gambling word for the numeric value, not the physical piece
tetrad
vsLittle Joe
1 8.6

A group or set of four things

is used as a slang numeral name rather than a collective group label
quaternary
vsLittle Joe
9.3

The number four

is an informal gambling label rather than the formal term
quaternity
vsLittle Joe
  • Archaic
9.9

A set of four related things

is used as a slang number term, not to name a group of items

Surface Forms

Little Joe singular
Little Joes plural

Morphology

Little + Joe

The constituents 'little' (small) and 'Joe' (a personal name) do not compose to suggest the numeral 'four'—there is no predictable semantic link or common cross-linguistic pattern that would map this combination to that number. This is specialized gambling slang/idiom whose meaning must be learned from exposure rather than derived from the parts, so a B1 learner knowing the words would not infer 'four'.

Etymology

Little Joe is a players' name for rolling two and two on the dice. One popular story says players called the low roll little and gave it the friendly name Joe, so the phrase became a quick way to say 'four' at the table.