poker

Etymology 1

poke + -er

noun

1. A metal rod, generally of wrought iron, for adjusting the burning logs or coals in a fire; a firestick.
2. (historical) A tool like a soldering iron for making poker drawings.
3. One who pokes.
   The guy next to him poked him in the ribs and said, “Check out the bazongas on this one!” Lee pivoted toward the rib poker and found himself looking straight into the face of Romeo Bouchard. 2012, Johnny Meah, Risk: No Eulogy for Tin Soldiers, page 40
4. A kind of duck, the pochard.
5. (MLE, slang) A knife.
   Key sense with the super-soaker Longest poker, leave man stressed like yoga 07-08-2020, Kaygrab x D1 (lyrics and music), “Rapid”, 1:18–1:21
   There is that guy that does with the pokings I step with my poker Play, cuz right, you might get folded 2021-03-06, Mloose (BG) (lyrics and music), “Real As Hell”, 0:58–1:02

verb

1. To poke with a utensil such as a poker or needle.
   The King continued pokering the fire with his back to the door, and took no notice of Lord Chesterfield. 1796 July, “The Late Lord Chesterfield”, in The Aberdeen Magazine, volume 1, number 2, page 70
   The lids have very pleasant designs pokered on with a hot needle. 1939, Norah Gourlie, A Winter with Finnish Lapps, page 68
   When she was gone Bell was afflicted by a mood that had her moving round the room, holding on to the yellow curtain, standing over her girls, stroking the sails of the model yacht, opening the drawer and looking at the broken brooch, pokering the fire, and shifting the kettle's position on the hearth. 1988, Robin Jenkins, Guests of War, page 246

Etymology 2

American English, perhaps from first element of German Pochspiel, from German pochen, perhaps from French poque. First appeared in the 19th century.

noun

1. Any of various card games in which, following each of one or more rounds of dealing or revealing cards, the players in sequence make tactical bets or drop out, the bets forming a pool to be taken either by the sole remaining player or, after all rounds and bets have been completed, by those remaining players who hold a superior hand according to a standard ranking of hand values for the game.
2. (poker) All the four cards of the same rank.
3. (soccer, rare) [a player's] scoring four goals in one match
   2021 September 20, Ratul Ghosh, "THE BEST MOMENTS FROM JIMMY GREAVES' LEGENDARY FOOTBALLING CAREER FootTheBall Greaves hit three hat-tricks, two pokers and five goals against West Brom on his way to a record-setting 41 league goals.
   2022 April 17, Dylan Butler, "Recap: NYCFC 6, Real Salt Lake 0" MLS.com Poker Face: Taty Castellanos strikes FOUR times for NYCFC vs. RSL
   Ibra has scored a "poker" on four separate occasions during his career: twice with Paris Saint-Germain and twice for Sweden. The most famed example must surely be his single-handed crushing of England in a friendly back in 2012, when the striker rounded off a 4-2 victory for the Swedes with a truly immense long-range overhead kick in the final minute. 2023 January 24, Chris Wright, "Mbappe scored career-high five goals in one game. What about Messi, Ronaldo and world's other top strikers?" Toe Poke (ESPN)
   The only player who scored a poker at Nou Camp is Milinko Pantić. Curiously, despite his 4 goals, his team (Atlético Madrid) lost the game. 2023 April 6, "THE 11TH HAT TRICK SCORER AT NOU CAMP" International Federation of Football History and Statistics
   2023 April 30, "Europa League's fastest goals and quickest hat-tricks" UEFA Daka also became only the fifth player to score four or more in a Europa League match, and the second fastest after Willian José, whose 'poker' came in the space of 26 minutes for Real Sociedad at Vardar in 2017.

verb

1. To play poker.
   Then we went to Mead's and pokered until morning. 1929, West Virginia Wild Life, page 38
   Papa liked nothing better than a game of poker . His pokering habits caused Mama grave anxiety. 1969, Emma Wilson Emery, Aunt Puss & Others: Old Days in the Piney Woods, page 94
   "He ran with and pokered with us boys,” Bob Paine would recall fifty years later, “ the darndest, pepperyest, finest companion a fellow could ask.” 1992, Vance H. Trimble, The Astonishing Mr. Scripps, page 56
   “Yeah,” Lemming mutters. “We're pokering, so shut the fuck up.” “I raise five,” Blake announces. 2017, Elle Kennedy, Sarina Bowen, Stay

Etymology 3

Compare Danish pokker (“the deuce, devil”), and English puck.

noun

1. (US, colloquial) Any imagined frightful object, especially one supposed to haunt the darkness; a bugbear.
   The very leaves on the horse-chesnuts[…]cling to the bough as if old poker was coming to take them away. 5 May 1784, Horace Walpole, letter to Hon. H. S. Conway