Is it "card shark" or "card sharp"?

[GeorgeF]

According to: 100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English, it is "card sharp".

"Cardsharps probably won't eat you alive, though they are adept at cutting your purse strings."

http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/mispron.html

So are these guys full of it? Would you rather be a "card sharp" or "cardshark"?

[daryn]

i'm pretty sure it's cardsharp.

[William]

[ QUOTE ]
i'm pretty sure it's cardsharp.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm pretty sure you're right.

[Tyler Durden]

[ QUOTE ]
i'm pretty sure it's cardsharp.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is. I hate to sound gay but this was discussed in a Friends episode between Ross and Russ (both played by the same guy).

[daryn]

i remember reading it in an old book on magic/card tricks.

(more manly response) /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[PuppetMaster]

[ QUOTE ]
According to: 100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English, it is "card sharp".

"Cardsharps probably won't eat you alive, though they are adept at cutting your purse strings."

http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/mispron.html

So are these guys full of it? Would you rather be a "card sharp" or "cardshark"?

[/ QUOTE ]
shark makes more since though, cause the bad players are fish. hence shark eats fish..

[MMMMMM]

[ QUOTE ]
shark makes more since though, cause the bad players are fish. hence shark eats fish.

[/ QUOTE ]


Dictionary Addition:

DON'T SAY: "since"

DO SAY: "sense"

COMMENT: since you want to make sense, right?


Also, I believe "cardsharp" generally refers to a card cheat of some sort, whereas "card shark" merely means one who, as you put it, eats the fish. So an (honest) top player might be considered a shark but not a sharp.

[PuppetMaster]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
shark makes more since though, cause the bad players are fish. hence shark eats fish.

[/ QUOTE ]

DON'T SAY since DO SAY sense COMMENT since you want to make sense, right?




[/ QUOTE ]
What? /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[MMMMMM]

See my reformatted post

[Phat Mack]

But I think sharp is correct usage, also. I think of a sharp as a mechanic, and a shark as a predator--honest or not.

Abdul had an interesting post on this on RGP long ago. The "fish" shark was named after the "person" shark. I believe he said it came from the German word for scoundrel. (The only dictionary I have access to now is the American Heritage Online, and it lists the etymology of shark as unknown.)

[Homer]

Everyone is saying card sharp, but does anyone remember that game show Card Sharks? That was a good show.

[daryn]

i remember it, thanks to game show network. it's funny when you watch the reruns and see people "go with their gut" and pick lower with a 5 or 6 or something.

[Oski]

Without looking it up, here is my understanding of the terms - they both refer to two different things.

Card Sharp = cheater. Someone who manipulates the game.

Card Shark = pro, or very good player seeking out crappy players. The shark feasts on the fist. This is similar to "Pool Shark", which has nothing to do with cheating, but does descripe a "hustler" or very good player.

[Jimbo]

I believe the post by Oski is correct and the most succinct. Being a former "Pool Shark", hey, I should know. /images/graemlins/smile.gif


Jimbo

[Michael Davis]

Whoever wrote the book on stud with the nom de plume Konstantin Othmer appeared on Card Sharks and did very well.

-Michael

[John Cole]

Jimbo,

"Cardshark," though, originated from people mishearing "cardsharp." Barbara Stanwyck played a cardsharp in Prseton Sturges's The Lady Eve, a great movie, which also starred a befuddled Henry Fonda, much at Stanwyck's character's mercy.

[Phat Mack]

"Cardshark," though, originated from people mishearing "cardsharp."

Do you have a source for this? OED lists shark as someone who exploits others at gambling or cards as late 16th c.

[Jive Dadson]

From www.dictionary.com (http://www.dictionary.com) --


sharp
n. Informal.

An expert.
A shrewd cheater; a sharper.

[blackaces13]

Shark = good card player who doesn't cheat a far as anyone knows

Sharp = cheater who wins money.

In rounders Matt Damon is a shark and Ed Norton is a sharp.