ace of spades
3
5.8
- noun
- /eɪs əv speɪdz/
:
as de espadas
- Whenever I'd ask her to think of a card, she always said 'ace of spades.'
- ace of spades playing card
That card was the ace of spades.
- That card was the ace of spades.
Examples
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I write an IOU on the ace of spades and sign it, and he tucks it into his wallet along with his other winnings.
Fiction book (1990) -
You did magic with the ace of spades; I want to know about it.
Fiction book (1994) -
I said I would close my eyes and cut her the ace of spades; it was her favorite card.
Fiction book (1994) -
Most people would go for the obvious card like the ace of spades or even the king.
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In every spread of the cards, she turned up both the ace of spades and the queen of diamonds.
Fiction book (1990) -
I always returned to one photograph, the way you will if you turn over each card in a deck, keep coming back to the ace of spades.
Fiction book (1992) -
During the game, he played the ace of spades, which surprised everyone.
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She regarded the ace of spades as a card of bad luck in their superstitions.
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In a typical deck of cards, the ace of spades is often the highest card.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The referent is directly compositional: 'ace' (the card marked A) combined with 'spade' (the suit) denotes the specific playing card, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning. While some cultural connotations (e.g. associations with bad luck or death) are pragmatic and may require exposure, the basic denotative meaning is transparent.
Etymology
The ace of spades shows one large black spade, a shape like a tool used to dig graves. One popular story says soldiers left this card on enemy bodies to frighten people, so it became connected with death. That's why the ace of spades often means 'bad luck' or 'death'.