The word “trick” is one of the most-used in the bridge world – and here, it means something completely different than it does anywhere else. I’m a linguist by nature, and the alternate definitions of the word trick have been attracting my attention for a while this week. 

It’s possible to play a trick on someone, to turn a trick, to do a magic trick and to trick or treat.

Here’s more about the etymology and alternate definitions behind the trick.

The Etymology of Tricks

According to several sources including Wikitionary, the etymology of the word trick traces back to more than one possible origin. 

It includes French (trique), but also possibly German (trek) and Latin (tricāre) as explanations for why we use the word trick today.

In whist and bridge, won tricks used to be stacked into a “book” as a possible origin of the term.

Alternate Meanings

Depending on where you say it, the word trick can have different meanings.

A trick is perfectly acceptable (and even sought after) in the world of bridge; but on the other hand, the term “turning tricks”and “trick” itself can refer to prostitution with general negative connotations. 

If something is “tricky”, it happens to be difficult. 

Someone can also play a nasty “trick” on another person. Magicians can do “magic tricks”, and it’s not the same kind of tricks as any of the other meanings also attributed to the same word above. 

“A effective, clever or quick way of doing something” is also listed as a definition of the word: some doors or gates have a “trick” to opening them.

Apparently, to “trick out” means to modify something, like a muscle car or a guitar. 

As one more verb, to “trick” can mean to dress up or decorate. (According to the internet, it’s common to add “up, off or out” to this meaning of the word “trick”.) 

The word trick has many possible meanings, yet when said within the bridge world, we know exactly which meaning people are referring to.