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Glite Dictionary
four flush

four flush

9.9
An attempt to trick others by pretending to have a strong poker hand or more success than you have
  • noun
  • /fɔr flʌʃ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : cuatro cartas
  • After his four flush in the last hand, no one trusted his poker face anymore.

Examples

  • Don't fall for his four flush at the poker table.

  • Her confident sales pitch turned out to be a four flush with little substance behind it.

  • He tried to four flush his way to victory, but everyone saw through his act.

  • He tried to pull a four flush during the game.

  • After his four flush in the last hand, no one trusted his poker face anymore.

  • Don't fall for his four flush at the poker table.

  • Her confident sales pitch turned out to be a four flush with little substance behind it.

Synonyms

bluff
vsfour flush
64 5.5

An attempt to trick someone by showing false strength, for example in poker

is a specific poker trick pretending one card away from a winning hand
four-flush
vsfour flush
  • Offensive
9.9

An act that pretends to have money or success to impress others

is an act of pretending in poker extended to any showy deception
four-flusher
vsfour flush
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who pretends to have skills or money to impress others

focuses on the person while the concept means the deceptive act itself

Antonyms

truth
∞ 1.0

A fact that shows how things really are

honesty
365 1.0

Being truthful and fair in what you say and do

How Deceptive

fraud
577 4.0
scam
  • NSFW
294 3.0
con
  • Informal
107 7.2
four flush
  • Archaic
9.9
to bluff
101 5.6

Surface Forms

four flush singular
four flushes plural

Morphology

four + flush

The compounds 'four' + 'flush' transparently signal a flush involving four cards (a near- or incomplete flush), so a learner who knows the words can infer a literal card-related meaning. However, the conventional sense that this specifically denotes a deceptive bluff or showy pretense is pragmatic/idiomatic and not fully predictable from the parts, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Four flush comes from poker: a player would act as if they had a five-card flush when they really held only four, trying to fool the other players. So, four flush now means 'a bluff' or 'a showy pretense', pretending to be stronger or better than you are.