wild card
4
3.8
- noun
- /ˈwaɪld kɑrd/
:
comodín
- The player used the wild card to change the outcome of the match, effectively playing any card he needed.
- wild card berth
- wild card spot
- wild card playoff
Examples
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Now look at the wild card standings.
Blog text (22) -
I thought it would be to our advantage to play a wild card.
Fiction book (1999) -
And they rode that wild card all the way to the World Series title.
Blog text (4) -
The male and female winners will automatically receive wild cards into the Australian Open.
Blog text (23) -
The Mets own the wild card, man.
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Soon, they'll be playing for a wild card, and that means the organization's goals have been reached already.
Blog text (23) -
Although no one expected the Mets to do much in 1997, they competed for the wild card until the final week of the season.
Blog text (4) -
The two wild cards from both leagues will have a one-game 'play-in' to the division series.
Blog text (27) -
In 2009, the teams tied at 9-7, but Baltimore earned an AFC wild card and the Steelers went home.
Blog text (28) -
Entering Saturday's race, Kahne, with two victories, and Busch, with one, possess the two wild card positions.
Blog text (22)
Synonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'wild' conveys unpredictability, so part of the MWE's meaning is recoverable from the constituents; however, 'card' does not literally mean a person or an unpredictable factor and the idiomatic sense relies on the card-game notion of a 'wild card'. A B1 learner who knows both words might guess it denotes something unpredictable but would likely miss the precise usage and nuance without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Wild card comes from card games where one card is made wild so it can stand for any other card. Imagine a single card that can turn into an ace or a king when you need it, so it means 'any card' in play.