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lurch

lurch

1 9.1
A complete defeat in a game when the loser scores no points
  • noun
  • /lɜrʧ/
  • Jargon
translation icon : blanqueada
  • She saw his lurch down Broadway again.

Examples

  • Her fight with Rose, and Brian's leaving her in the lurch to take Rose home.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • "Charlotte," I said, "you can't just leave him in the lurch."

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Sorry to leave you in the lurch, but I know you can handle things.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • "She left you in the lurch, huh?" the American stated.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • With only two more weeks there, he was trying to clean up things, not leave his boss in a lurch.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • She felt the awkward lurch of wanting inside herself and decided to call it love.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Lurch assists her.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • In her first years, Mildred had taken up young and promising artists and given them shows, even though their work mostly didn't sell, and more than once she'd been left in the lurch.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Over seventy GlamorDivans, bought and paid for, hang in the proverbial lurch because my pal Sid, whom I literally dragged out of the gutter, has met the woman of his dreams and suddenly loathes travel.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • In the final round, he suffered a complete lurch as he failed to score any points, losing the game dramatically.

Synonyms

rout
vslurch
12 7.2

A complete defeat in which one side loses badly

is specific to a scoreless cribbage loss rather than general routs
thrashing
vslurch
  • Informal
3 5.4

A heavy defeat in a game or contest

is specific to a defeat where the loser scores nothing in cribbage
skunk
vslurch
  • US
1 9.1

A loss in a game where one team scores no points

is used specifically in the card game cribbage for a scoreless defeat
l
vslurch
  • Slang
1 9.9

A loss in a game or competition

is a technical card game term for a scoreless defeat used especially in cribbage

Antonyms

1.0

Getting what you want after working hard

1.0

A win against an opponent or a difficult problem

Idioms

in the lurch
  • Informal
8 8.2

Left without help at an important time

in the lurch
  • Informal
1 7.7

Left suddenly without help when you need it

Surface Forms

lurch singular
lurches plural

Etymology

Lurch in the game sense comes from an old board-game name lourche, where a player could lose badly, so being 'lurch'ed meant a heavy defeat. That's why a lurch can mean a decisive loss, often with no points scored.