It’s not quite fair to say that bridge terms mean nothing to people who don’t play the game. Technically, most bridge terms mean something outside of the game – but their regular meanings mean wildly different things.

If you’re going to talk about bridge to someone who isn’t familiar with the basics, be sure to start them off with a proper list of terms that takes some of the confusion out of it and stops things from getting lost in translation.

Here’s a take on what some bridge terms might sound like to people who aren’t familiar with the game

• To non-bridge players, the term RUBBER is considerably funnier – and available at most stores and gas station.
• To non-bridge players, TRICKS are the opposite of Treats around Halloween.
• DOUBLE is something you order from the bar after a rough day.
• To non-bridge players, a GRAND SLAM is something they’ll mostly associate with tennis when they hear it.
• To non-bridge players, ALERT is a state of mind that nobody achieves before their third cup of coffee.
• To non-bridge players, CONTRACTS can sink marriages. (Actually, in bridge too…)
• To non-bridge players, an AUCTION is a great opportunity to buy cars, houses and other seized items that may or may not have belonged to drug dealers or cat burglars. 
• To non-bridge players, FINESSE is the closest singular term to describe Freddy Mercury’s stage personality..  
• To non-bridge players, RUFF is how some people like it.
• To non-bridge players, a MASTER CARD gets swiped for ill-advised credit purchases like a ten foot blow-up hamburger that you know you won’t ever use.
• To non-bridge players, BLOCKING is an action performed on social media for unwanted deck pics.
• To non-bridge players, feeling VULNERABLE is something that happens after a night of heavy drinking, usually fixed by the hair of the dog.