house of cards
1
6.0
- noun
- /haʊs əv kɑrdz/
:
castillo de naipes
- When she tried to explain her plan, she realized it was just a house of cards that could easily fall apart.
- building a house of cards
Examples
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This house of cards is way too big.
Blog text (14) -
The house of cards fell down.
Blog text (1) -
Netflix sets February premiere for 'House of Cards.'
Blog text (24) -
Pair that straightforward, real-world concept with the more complex yet similarly intuitive house-of-cards targets that hold the promise of thrilling chain reaction victories, and you have a simple yet impossible-to-master scenario, very much like golf.
Blog text (32) -
He built a house of cards in the living room, but it collapsed with the slightest breeze.
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The children giggled as they stacked their house of cards, hoping it wouldn't tumble down.
Synonyms
A fragile structure made by balancing playing cards against each other
A small tower you make by balancing playing cards that falls easily
A fragile structure that you make by balancing playing cards
How Stable
Surface Forms
Morphology
house + of + cards
The phrase literally describes a 'house' made from 'cards' with the preposition 'of' signalling composition, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can derive the meaning of a fragile structure built from playing cards. This compositional pattern (X of Y = made from Y) is common across languages, making the expression immediately comprehensible; any extended metaphorical sense (i.e. a precarious situation) follows naturally from the literal image.
Etymology
House of cards originally names the small model you make by stacking playing cards into a tiny house; because the model is very weak and falls easily, the term describes that delicate, easy-to-collapse structure.