Bridge Glossary

Table

(1) (noun) a bridge game; the four players in such a game.

(2) (noun) board; dummy (meaning 2);

(3) (noun) one of the units of activity in a tournament;

(4) (verb) put down (dummy's cards);

(5) (verb) play (a card).

Table card

a marker showing the players' geographical designations and the table's section and number (usually placed on each table of a duplicate bridge event).

Table feel (also table presence)

drawing inferences from the behavior of the opponents (which is legal) or of partner (which is illegal), other than their calls and plays.

Takeout

(1) (noun) removal of the contract to a new strain;

(2) (adjective) suggesting that partner bid.

Takeout double

a double that encourages a partner to bid (as opposed to a penalty double, which suggests that he pass).

Tank

(1) (slang) (verb) huddle; not act for a long time.

(2) (slang) (noun) a state of intense concentration. [Usage: South went into the tank.]

Tap

(slang) force to ruff; pump; force.

Tartan Two-Bids

multiple-meaning two-bids with these possibilities: two notrump, weak minor two-suiter; two spades, Acol-two with spades or weak with spades and another suit; two hearts, Acol-two with hearts or balanced 21-22 or weak with hearts and a minor.

Team

four players (occasionally more, as in team-of-six) competing as a unit; See: Team-of-four

Team-of-four

a form of duplicate bridge in which players compete as a unit of four, one playing each of the four compass positions on each deal.

Teammate

player on the same team; sometimes, one of the players on one's team at the other table.

Telephone number

four-figure penalty.

Teller

a player who replies to an asking-bid; asker's partner

Tempo

(1) the time (in terms of tricks during the play) needed to take an action or to execute a plan;

(2) the opportunity to lead at any point during the play;

(3) the speed at which a player executes a call or play.

Temporize

delay taking definitive action; wait.

Tenace

a non-sequential holding, such as ace-queen or king-jack.

Ten implies

an opening lead convention in which the lead of a ten shows an interior sequence including the ace, king or queen.

-tenth

within or heading a ten-card holding. [Usage: ace-king-tenth = ten cards headed by the ace-king.]

Texas

four-level transfer responses to a notrump opening (four hearts = spades, four diamonds = hearts).

Their hand

(slang) a deal on which "their side" can make a higher contract than ours.

Thin

(1) (slang) (of a contract) bid on not quite adequate values;

(2) (slang) (of a bid) made on slightly less than the normally required strength.

-third

within or heading a three-card holding. [Usage: jack-third = three cards headed by the jack = jack-tripleton = Jxx.]

Third and fifth

an opening-lead method in which the third highest card is led from three or four cards, the fifth highest card from a longer suit.

Third from even, low from odd

an opening-lead method in which the third highest card is led from even length, the lowest card from odd length; part of (and the most distinctive feature of) Journalist leads against suit contracts.

Third hand

(1) the player third to have the opportunity to bid;

(2) the player third to play to a trick.

Third hand high

a principle of card play from whist.

Thirteener

(slang) a card held when all other players have been exhausted of cards in its suit.

Threat

menace.

Three-quarter movement

a variant of the Howell movement. [also called New England Relay]

Three-suiter

a hand with three suits of four or more cards, thus distributed 4-4-4-1 or 5-4-4-0.

Through

from the right.

Throw (or throw away)

discard.

Throw-in play

endplay.

Thrump

(1) (slang) (noun) three notrump;

(2) (slang) (verb) to contract for three notrump, especially with flimsy values

Tickets

(1) (slang) high cards;

(2) pick-up slips [see pick up (4)].

Tight

(1) (slang) conservative;

(2) (slang) (of an honor or honor holding) not protected by low cards. [Usage: tight king = singleton king; queen-jack tight = doubleton queen-jack.]

Time out

(slang) (of an auction) following a particular timing (meaning 2).

Timing

(1) the order of play, or of planned activities during the play;

(2) (slang) (of an auction) the following a particular order of activities.

To (followed by a number)

in a suit of the specified length. [Usage: king to four = K x x x.]

TONTO

a method for advancing three-notrump overcalls that relies on transfers.

Top

in matchpoint scoring, the highest possible score on one deal.

Top and bottom

(1) (adjective for bridge) relating to a style of strategy and/or tactics that usually results in a very good or very bad result on each deal.

(2) (adjective for cue-bid) showing length in the highest and lowest unbid suits [Usage: East: one heart; South: two hearts. If North-South are using Top and Bottom Cue-Bids, two hearts shows spades and clubs.]

Top of nothing

method of leading a relatively high spot card, often the highest, to show no honor in the suit.

Total points

scoring a session by adding the raw (duplicate bridge) scores of individual deals; sometimes "aggregate scoring."

Total tricks

the sum of the numbers of tricks that each side can take, double-dummy, in its longest trump fit.

Total trumps

the sum of the numbers of trumps of each side in its best combined fit.

Touching

adjacent (usually in rank, as "touching cards," "touching honors" or "touching suits").

Tournament

an organized competitive event; usually, a duplicate bridge event.

Tournament director

director.

Track

(slang) put down on the table. [Usage: Dummy tracked with six strong spades.]

Tram tickets

(slang) poor cards.

Trance

(slang) huddle.

Transfer

(1) (noun) a bid that shows length in a different suit;

(2) (noun) a call that asks partner to make a certain call regardless of his holding; [In this usage, also called Puppet.]

(3) (verb) to use a transfer (meaning 1);

(4) (verb) to remove protection in a suit from one opponent and give it to the other;

(5) (adjective) a squeeze involving a transfer (meaning 4).

Transferable values

strength that is likely to be useful on either offense or defense, thus high cards in suits where the partnership is not known to have great combined length.

Trap pass

pass made with enough values to take other action.

Traveler

a score sheet that accompanies the board in a tournament.

Traveling

not occupying the same seat or seats throughout the current tournament movement.

Traveling score

traveler.

Tray

board.

Treatment

a partnership's interpretaton of an action.

Trey

three-spot.

Trebleton

tripleton.

Trial

a tournament that qualifies the successful contestants for a future event (usually, one of higher importance).

Trial bid

game-try (occasionally used also for slam-try).

Trick

a collection of four cards, one contributed by each player at the table.

Trick score

the score awarded for tricks bid and made; points counting towards game.

Triple

(1) of a squeeze: against (only) one opponent and extending over three suits.

(2) of a jump bid, two levels above the cheapest jump in the same strain (e.g., one heart -- four spades).

Triple four by one

4-4-4-1 distribution

Triple raise

double-jump raise. [Example: one spade-four spades.]

Tripleton

a holding of three cards in a suit.

Trump

(1) (noun) a card that ranks above all cards of all other suits;

(2) (verb) to play such a card after the lead of another suit.

Trump control

enough trumps to prevent the opponents from cashing side-suit winners.

Trump coup

coup (meaning 2).

Trump echo

high-low in trumps, traditionally used indicate interest in a ruff, now often used merely to give count (usually an odd number).

Trump promotion

an increase in the number of trump tricks available to one side through overruff or uppercut.

Trump squeeze

a squeeze in which the ability to ruff in a menace suit after the squeeze is consummated is essential.

Trump suit

a suit, determined in the bidding, whose cards rank above all cards of all other suits.

Truscott

a defense against big-club openings based on low-level suit bids showing the suit bid and the next highest suit.

Turkey

(slang) weak player.

Turn

place in the rotation during the bidding phase or the play to a trick.

-twelfth

within or heading a twelve-card holding. [Usage: ace-queen-twelfth = AQJ1098765432]

Twist

(slang) secondary suit, usually of only four cards

Two-club system

a bidding method based on a strong, artificial two-club opening.

Two-over-one response

a response in a lower-ranking suit than that bid by opener, which must therefore be made at the two level to be legal.

Two-suiter

a hand with two suits of four or more cards, but usually not applied to 4-4-3-2 distribution.

Two-way

(describing a call) having more than one fundamental meaning.

Two-way finesse

a situation in which it is possible to hope that either opponent holds a missing card. [If dummy has ace-jack-deuce and declarer has king-ten-three, declarer has a two-way finesse against the missing queen.].

Two-way Stayman

two clubs as nonforcing Stayman combined with two diamonds as forcing (usually game-forcing) Stayman.