ace of hearts
1
3.3
- noun
- /eɪs əv hɑrts/
:
as de corazones
- Let's say I have four cards: the ace of hearts, the ace of spades, the two of hearts, and the two of spades.
And I can lead you that card you take out, for example, you know, the ace of hearts, the king of hearts.
- And I can lead you that card you take out, for example, you know, the ace of hearts, the king of hearts.
Examples
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During the game, he confidently played the ace of hearts, securing his victory.
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Am I holding the ace of hearts?
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She turned the key in the lock and put a red ace of hearts in my hand.
Fiction book (2000) -
The ace of hearts, Mona had secretly dubbed him.
Fiction book (1994) -
She smiled as she revealed the ace of hearts from her hand, impressing her friends.
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In the deck of cards, the ace of hearts is the highest-ranking card in the hearts suit.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'ace' (a single marked card) combined with 'of' + 'heart(s)' identifies the highest-ranking card in the hearts suit. This follows a common noun-of-noun possession/composition pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the parts will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The noun ace of hearts comes from the picture on a playing card: the ace shows a single big heart in the middle, and in many games this card is the 'highest' in the heart suit, so it often wins the hand.