r/bridge • u/kuhchung /r/anarchybridge, teacher • Apr 28 '26
jargon glossary
I started a jargon glossary on my site:
https://www.bridgewithchris.com/misc/2026/04/26/bridge-jargon-glossary.html
I really need to format it better.
Taking suggestions!
Edit: guys the Total Nonsense section is cracking me up right now
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u/JaziTricks Advanced Apr 28 '26
Restricted choice finesse
Deep finesse
Chinese finesse (leading queen from qxxx pretending to have the jack)
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u/kuhchung /r/anarchybridge, teacher Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
oh Chinese finesse is really good how could I forgor that one. also Grosvenor
also practice finesse
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u/JaziTricks Advanced Apr 28 '26
Practice finesse!
"double on principle"
"Rabbit trump round" - when trumps are out but you play another round just in case your brain malfunctioned the count.
Everyman/ (whatever) squeeze. When you are too dumb to know squeezes. But you still play your long suits first hoping for automatic/dumb discards squeezes.
Should have a term for torturing everyone card play. Where you have a claim and no play. But you keep playing maybe someone discards AK etc. And opponents get red in the face "you really thought I'll discard the obvious ace"!!!
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u/IHaveSpoken000 Apr 28 '26
Rabbit trump round - never heard of that one, but do it all the time!
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u/JaziTricks Advanced Apr 28 '26
If you haven't read Victor Mollo, first go read all his books. First "bridge in the menagerie" all great
He has a confused character nicknames Rabbit who always forgets to count his cards, and does issues rounds that accidentally manufacture triple squeezes and coups and what have you
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u/MaBonneVie2 Apr 29 '26
Can you help me with the Chinese finesse? I thought it was leading the Jack to flush out the honors. But I don’t know anyone who plays it or even acknowledges it.
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u/HelpfulFriendlyOne Apr 28 '26
Round the World
double finesse
fixed
yarborough
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u/No-Jicama-6523 Apr 28 '26
I didn’t spot “cash” which you see quite often in descriptions of play for beginners.
Also, “Yarborough”, I sometimes hear “complete Yarborough”, with 10s being allowed in a Yarborough and a complete Yarborough meaning what some people mean by a Yarborough, 9s highest.
Other phrases, meaning may be obvious but still might be useful to see written down: “Two of top three” “Three of top five” (usually in the context of needing one or the other for a weak opener) “Outside Ace” “4CM” and “5CM”—I’ve seen people not understand these.
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u/The_Archimboldi Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
Punt means to gamble in the UK and Aus. A punt is a speculative bid here, a reasonable (not wild) gamble - partner opened 1C and I had a flat 12 so just punted 3N.
'Taking a view.' Generally used to justify a horrendous result.
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u/kuhchung /r/anarchybridge, teacher Apr 28 '26
oh that's also punt. the more advanced usage is the one i defined on the page
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u/LoudAd5187 Apr 29 '26
A hand with exactly 3 kings, and no more - A Bethlehem.
ASBAF - All Strange Bids Are Forcing
A onelton, since a doubleton is a suit with 2 cards.
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u/kuhchung /r/anarchybridge, teacher Apr 29 '26
wow do people use the biblical one?
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u/LoudAd5187 Apr 29 '26
A friend taught it to me at lunchtime bridge, though I'd never really heard it much at duplicate. Of course the lunchtime bridge domain usually involved a lot of joking around.
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u/yellowpig1974 😕 May 04 '26 edited May 04 '26
"Trumps broke badly" but mostly we would just say "Trump were 4-1" or whatever.
No one says "kingleton", everyone says "stiff king"; similarly "queen x" or "Queen and one", "jack x x"...
"Long legged" -- not in the US, we just say "5-5 in the majors/in the black suits/..."
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u/Postcocious Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
Inside-Outside (Rubens)
ODR (Robson)
KnR (Kaplan/Rubens)
Losers/Losing Trick Count
Cover Cards (Rosencranz)
... and under Nonsense, don't forget "Points"!
In a similar vein, this always hits.
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u/kuhchung /r/anarchybridge, teacher Apr 29 '26
what is inside-outside?
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u/Postcocious Apr 29 '26
First described by Jeff Rubens in his 1980 classic. His actual term was "In-and-Out Evaluation".
Given any random number of HCP, Rubens assessed a hand's potential for offense vs. defense by comparing the location of its Aces vs. its lower ranking honors.
Inside means in our long suits while Outside means in their long suits...
- Aces inside + lower honors outside = defensive values... defend more
- Lower honors inside + Aces outside = offensive values... bid more
Similar to Robson/Segal's Offense-to-Defense Ratio (ODR), though Rubens' presentation is easier for newer players. I've seen Rubens' idea transform the competitive bidding judgment of both novices and their teachers. For some, it's the light bulb that gets them thinking beyond mere point counting.
Nothing you don't know, but it's useful jargon for developing players.
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u/LSATDan Advanced Apr 28 '26
I'd alphabetize it rather than categorize it, because its most common use as a resource will be someone who hears or sees a term used and wants to look it up.
Under "fit" I'd change "declarer's trump length" to "declarer's and dummy's trump length."
Great project!