blackjack
/ˈblækd͡ʒæk/
Frequency: 3.16 in modern English
Meaning
noun
A common gambling card game in casinos, where the object is to get as close to 21 without going over.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A variant of switch where each player is initially dealt the same number of cards, usually seven, and when one player plays a black jack the player whose turn comes next has to pick up that many cards, unless they play a red jack (as this normally cancels a black jack).
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The flag (i.e., a jack) traditionally flown by pirate ships; popularly thought to be a white skull and crossed bones on a black field (the Jolly Roger).
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A small, flat, blunt, usually leather-covered weapon loaded with heavy material such as lead or ball bearings, intended to inflict a blow to the head that renders the victim unconscious with diminished risk of lasting cranial trauma.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A tool of leather filled with shot (or similar), resembling the weapon, used for shaping sheet metal.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The pain is sometimes like the dull, heavy thud of being hit with a lead-filled blackjack; other times like a wizard is reaching deep below the skin and ripping muscles, tendons, and nerves."
- "A little creek ran through the land, and the prairie rolled a little there, too. Nothing but blackjacks for miles around it, but on that section, because of the water, I suppose, there were elms and persimmons and cottonwoods and even a grove of pecans."
- "A steep slope rose, crested by stunted blackjacks."
- "This man had a brother about six miles off, settled on a rich White River bottom-land farm -- and while a blackjack clay soil yielded seventy bushels to the acre, this fine bottom-land would not average fifty."
- "Blackjack soil is generally the poorest of all; it covers the narrow and rocky ridges, and has a stunted growth of blackjack and post oaks. The soil is dark in color, thin and cold, and is underlaid with pale yellow or slate-colored clay."
- "The predominant soil is the blackjack soil like that of the lower plateaus, seemingly, however, in most cases a little more sandy and a little coarser in grain."
Etymology
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- Australian usage
- British usage
- Slang