This week's theme
Words derived from card games

This week's words
euchre
vole
house of cards
spoof
trump card

---

A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(hous uv kardz)

MEANING:

noun: Something insecure or insubstantial that is subject to imminent collapse.

ETYMOLOGY:

Alluding to a flimsy structure made with playing cards. Earliest documented use: 1645.

USAGE:

"'We have to find a new balance,' the pope said. 'Otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards.'"
Michael Gerson; Francis the Troublemaker; The Washington Post; Sep 24, 2013.

See more usage examples of house of cards in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: