Omemee Pigeon eFlyer: You’re Euchred! Omemee Seniors Meet Thursday

Thursday, May 19, 2011

You’re Euchred! Omemee Seniors Meet Thursday

You’re Euchred! Where Did That Saying Come From?

Omemee Seniors Club meets to play Euchre each Thursday from December to June, at the Omemee Legion Hall. It’s a $3 admission for members, with the card game starting at 1 p.m. Once in a while,another event may take precedence at the Omemee Legion Fall.so it is wise to give the President, Frank Martichenko from Cavan (705) 944-5467 or Marion Wellman (705) 799-6951. Neither Frank ,nor Marion could be reached for comment at the time of posting.

What is Euchre, and Where Did This Curious Phrase Come From?

Euchre, for the uninitiated , is a popular card game played by many in Ontario,eastern Canada,and parts of the United States. Some liken it to “Spades”, while others compare it to “Sheepshead”, and Bridge. There is some dispute as to where the game originated, some point to the German word “Bauer” (pronounced Bower”) meaning farmer, and suggest it may spring from the Pennsylvania Dutch in the USA, and have originated with a similar game from Germany "Juker:". back in the 1800's.

To be Euchred

The slang phrase “You’re Euchred”, has come to mean “to be thoroughly defeated, and have no recourse”, while the word “euchre” is sometimes used as a verb meaning “to swindle, or foil a person in a sneaky or underhanded way out of all their holdings”, as in “They were euchred of of their life’s savings.”
This turn of phrase, may stem from the manner in which the card game is played. In the game of Euchre, when a player chooses which cards will score the most points in a “hand", they are expected to win most of the “tricks”, When they succeed, they gain two points. If however, their opponent, wins most of the “tricks”, before the end of the hand, they are “euchred”, the hand is brought to a standstill, and their opponent gets 4 points.
“You’re Euchred! Here’s My Dollar”
This odd insult, apparently, is flung out in response to somebody about to “do something obviously stupid”. Here’s the explanation of the phrase from the Discussion Thread at “The Straight Dope”:

My father taught us how to play [Euchre], when we were kids. It was popular in his neighborhood (in upstate NY).
Anyway, he told us this story of a rather thick-headed fellow who simply could not accept the idea that sometimes, when another player was a point away from winning, you did not want to euchre someone, i.e. you'd have to let them win some tricks. Because if he got euchred, all the other players would get the points and the highest guy would then win the whole game!
Well, this guy did this so often they wound up creating a catch-phrase anytime somebody wanted to do something obviously stupid:
"You're Euchred! Here's my dollar..."we still use it today.

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Resources:
The Straight Dope Discussion Thread
Definitions-"Euchre"
Picture from the Flickr Photo stream of Mac Q
Related Items available from Amazon:
The Columbus Book of Euchre, Second Edition
Euchre Anyone?: Euchre Solitaire
Card Games For Dummies

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