trump cards
Unbeatable plays held
Trump cards are the cards in a suit designated to outrank all other suits in a card game.
In figurative use, a trump card is a decisive advantage held in reserve: She played her trump card and revealed the emails.
The phrase suggests strategic timing—saving your strongest asset for when it matters most.
- card gamePastime using a deck
- trick-takingWinning dealt card rounds
- advantageFavorable position or circumstance
- handGrasping body part
- decisiveQuick to conclude
cards · contract bridge · bid whist · ace · wildcard · play your cards · up your sleeve · hold all the cards · secret weapon · hearts · joker · suits · outrank · euchre · tarot cards · dealt · victory · high stakes
- Tarottarot, tarot cards, tarot reading, major arcana, arcana
- Trick-Taking Cardstrick, tricks, bid, deal, hand
- rummy gamesrummy, melds, meld, runs, gin rummy
trump cardslosing hand
Inferior card combination
liabilities · weaknesses · disadvantages · weak points · handicaps
trump cardsduds
Clothes or failures
empty hands · blanks · zeroes · non-starters · busted flushes
triumph, trump, trumped, trumps, trumping, trump card, trumpery