to shoot craps
1
8.4
- phrasal verb
- /ʃut kræps/
- US
:
jugar a los dados
- On Friday night, we decided to shoot craps at the local casino with friends.
Examples
-
Some sat on boxes, while others shot craps in a circle in front of them.
Fiction book (1993) -
Whoa, whoa, it's not like I'm shooting craps or playing blackjack or something.
-
Hey, am I the only one shooting craps here?
-
You know how to shoot craps?
-
I just taught them how to shoot craps.
-
A group was shooting craps in the corner.
Fiction book (2002) -
Jack, ever shoot craps, Les?
Fiction book (1992) -
Reuben taught me to shoot craps here when I was a kid.
-
We were shooting craps.
-
In the saloon, men are clapping shoulders, shooting craps, drinking, laughing, and brawling.
Fiction book (2000)
Synonyms
4
4.8
To play a game for money by throwing small marked cubes
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'shoot' (to throw dice) combined with 'craps' (the dice game) yields 'to play the game of craps.' This follows a common verb + game-noun construction with no idiomatic or metaphorical shift, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The verb shoot craps comes from the dice game craps, where the player who threw the dice was called the 'shooter' and would literally shoot the dice across the table. That's why the phrase means 'to play the gambling game'.