to mark someone's card
- idiom
- Informal
:
advertir
- It's wise to have someone mark your card before negotiating with them.
Examples
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Make sure to mark her card before the meeting.
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If you see him heading this way, mark my card so I'm not caught by surprise.
-
Before starting the new job, her friend marked her card about the company's strict dress code.
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I will mark his card so he knows what to expect.
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Before the meeting, she took a moment to mark his card about the potential changes in policy.
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He decided to mark her card so she wouldn't be surprised by the upcoming staff reductions.
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The coach wanted to mark his player's card to ensure he was ready for the tough competition ahead.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Tell someone about possible danger so they can be careful
92
3.0
To warn someone about danger or problems
14
4.8
Tell someone about possible danger before it happens
1
4.2
To tell people about a possible danger before it happens
To tell someone about something before it happens
How Warned
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to give someone important information or a warning' is not directly obvious from the literal meanings of 'mark' (to notice or make a sign) and 'card' (a physical card or record), though there is a partial link if 'mark' is interpreted as 'note in a record' and 'card' as a personal record. Because the connection requires a figurative extension of 'card' and some idiomatic usage knowledge, a B1 learner who only knows the constituents would probably not fully predict the meaning.
Etymology
Mark someone's card may come from old card games where players wrote notes on a paper card; if a player was tricky others would mark that player's card to warn everyone to watch out. That's why today it means 'to give someone important information or a warning' before they meet or deal with someone.