long suit
- noun
- Jargon
:
palo largo
- In bridge, having a long suit in your hand can be a significant advantage.
Examples
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She led with her long suit, hoping to establish it early in the game.
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The long suit in her hand was spades.
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His strategy relied on developing the long suit to win extra tricks.
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In bridge, the long suit can determine your strategy.
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In bridge, having a long suit means you can play more tricks than your opponents.
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His hand featured a long suit of hearts, which helped him win the game.
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She focused her play on her long suit to maximize her chances of winning.
How Long
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'a strong point' does not follow directly from the literal constituents: 'long' (length/large) and 'suit' (a card suit or clothing). The idiom comes from card-play (having a 'long suit' = many cards in one suit, an advantage), a historical/metaphorical link that is not obvious to a B1 learner who only knows the basic meanings, so the overall meaning is unpredictable from the parts.
Etymology
Long suit comes from card games. In a hand, a suit (like hearts) that is long, meaning you hold many cards in it, gives you more chance to win tricks. So it means 'the suit with the most cards'.