The English Playing Card Society
Promoting research into English card history since 1984. Members receive the EPCS magazine three times a year.
Join from £10/year
The English Playing Card Society
Promoting research into English card history since 1984. Members receive the EPCS magazine three times a year.
Join from £10/yearI want to know if a certain slang was used in 17th century card games.
Thomas Hobbes mentions the phrase "three want foure" in Leviathan (1651, I heard that card games were banned at this time, but is that true?).
ChatGPT speculates as follows about this phrase. This phrase expressed the situation in 17th century card games where "three is not enough, and four is needed to win."
I looked it up on the Internet, but it was difficult for Japanese (me) to find the source.
Was the phrase "three want foure" used in card games in the 17th century, or is there a possibility that it was? If possible, I would appreciate it if you could tell me about these.
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Simon Wintle
31 August 2024, 10:23Thanks for your interesting query. The phrase “three want foure” appears to have been a proverbial expression in literature or everyday use, possibly also in card games, in the 17th century. We don’t have any more information at this time to provide a more precise reply.
Koichiro Sahara
05 September 2024, 05:46Thank you for your comment! I'm still looking for references to the phrase. I would appreciate it if you all find it and let me know here.