Poker face synonyms. Top poker face synonyms (idioms only) are cool cat, dead-pan face and cold blood. Definition of poker-face noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website, including to provide targeted advertising and track usage. Wore A Poker Face Idiom Definition, slots of vegas casino mobile, the heavy poker night, driving directions to belterra casino vevay in.

05:49
31 Oct

One of my favorite things about being part of a niche culture is the special language that develops around it. While we may not always think of it as such, poker most certainly has its own lexicon full of words and phrases that a layman would never understand. I honestly doubt my own mother would know what the “flop” was, much less a phrase like, “angle shooting.” However, there is one poker term that, among all others, has risen out of our game and into the common language at large, the “poker face.”

The phrase poker face is a phrase thrown around constantly to refer to keeping one’s emotions in check. Upon meeting someone with a stoic nature one might comment, “That’s quite a poker face you’ve got there.” In another instance one might say, “The boss can smell fear. If you go in there, You’d better have your poker face ready.” But where did the phrase come from? Has it existed since the dawn of poker or is it secretly a recent invention? I set out to track it down.

My first google searches were fruitless. I got all sorts of results defining the phrase and many more about the hit Lady Gaga song of the same name, but no one knew where it started. I started combing through encyclopedias looking for an entry on the phrase. “Poker” always had results, but no one had a story for the creation of “poker face.” Finally I resorted to a rare trick called using something I learned in college. I learned some years ago that the Oxford English Dictionary includes, among its vast wealth of information, a list of important places where a word or phrase has been quoted in publication. Usually, this includes the word’s first instance of publication. I searched for “poker face” and after following that trail for a bit, I finally came up with this:

It follows that the possession of a good poker face is an advantage. No one who has any pretensions to good play will betray the value of his hand by gesture, change of countenance, or any other symptom.'Cavendish. Round Games at Cards. London: Thomas De La Rue & Co. 1875;

As far as I can tell, this quotation is the first ever published use of the phrase “poker face.” It comes from a book about card games and gambling that was originally published back in 1875! While it is possible that the phrase had some use before it was ever in printed form, there is no way to prove it, and we must give credit to Cavendish, whose first name I was unable to find.

Frankly, the whole book is quite interesting as it teaches what, at the time, must have been quite new to a lot of people. Moreover, I got a kick out of some of the older terms used. For example, while the author never calls it “Blackjack,” He does go into great detail about a French game called “Vingt-Et-Un” which translates to “21.” It is played nearly identically to modern Blackjack except that you bet after receiving your first card. It also appears as though a “full house” used to just be called a “full hand.” If you enjoy the history of our sport and want to check it out, can find the free version here, thanks to Google Books.

As to the rest of my questions, it seems the idea of the poker face came around a significant time later than the game itself. While it is very hard to pin down exactly when “Poker” became popular, card games of skill and betting have existed for hundreds of years previous to 1875. While the word ”poker” itself entered the English language some time in the early 1800’s, games like Brag (English), Poque (French), and Pochen (German) are well evidenced back into the first half of the 1700’s. Each of these games revolve similarly around cards and gambling. They are likely the progenitors of the poker we know today. And of course, these games could not have been played without bluffing, so the idea of concealing your facial tells probably predates our popular phrase by a good 100-150 years.

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If you’re teaching or learning English, one way to keep things interesting is to look at the use of idioms in music. One musician who certainly knows how to rock idioms is Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga shocked the world in 2011 when she appeared at the MTV Video Music Awards wearing a dress made of meat… yuk! Love her or loathe her, her songs can be actually very useful if you are learning English as a second language. In this article, we take a look at the idioms contained within some of Lady Gaga’s most popular songs and tell you exactly what they mean.

Idioms in music

Lady Gaga Lyrics: Alejandro

You know that I love you, boy

Hot like Mexico, rejoice

At this point I gotta choose

Nothing to lose

Nothing to lose: Someone is described as having nothing to lose if they are in a bad situation that can’t get any worse, or there is no disadvantage to attempting to achieve something.

Example: “I am going to start my own business. I really hate my current job, so I have nothing to lose.”

Lady Gaga Lyrics: Alienated

Since I become a shooting star

I’ve been wondering where you are

Seems like your forever in a getaway

Momma told me that it would happen to me one day

Shooting star: A shooting star is someone who is rapidly rising to fame.

Example: “The American Idol contestants are shooting stars.”

Lady Gaga Lyrics: Fancy Pants

Let’s take off our fancy pants tonight

(Fancy, fancy, you’re so fancy)

Fancy pants: The term fancy pants is used to describe someone who acts in a manner that is perceived to be pretentious or over elaborate.

Example: “Eric is too much of a fancy pants for me. He is only interested in things that cost a lot of money.”

Lady Gaga Lyrics: Poker Face

Can’t read my, can’t read my

No he can’t read my poker face

Poker face: Someone is described as having a poker face if their face is expressionless and without emotion. The term poker face is mostly used when talking about the card game poker; poker players don’t want people to know what they are thinking or feeling, so they force a straight face that hides all clues. If they are holding a hand of cards and they don’t want the other players to have any idea what type of hand they have, they try to maintain a poker face.

Example: “Steve found it hard to preserve his poker face when he was dealt three kings.”

A little gambling is fun when you’re with me, I love it

Russian Roulette is not the same without a gun

Russian Roulette:Russian Roulette is a very dangerous game where a barrel gun is loaded with just one bullet. Players take turns to aim the gun at their head and pull the trigger. Eventually, one unlucky player will find the bullet and will be killed.

You are said to be playing Russian Roulette if you take unnecessary risks, or put yourself in a dangerous situation.

Example: “The man was sentenced to 5 years in prison for driving under the influence of alcohol. The judge said that he was playing Russian Roulette with other people’s lives.”

Lady Gaga Lyrics: Monster

That boy is bad

And honestly

He’s a wolf in disguise

But I can’t stop staring in those evil eyes

Wolf in disguise: Someone is described as being a wolf in disguise if they pretend to be nice or friendly but are really evil or dangerous.

Poker Face Idiom Example Sentence

Example: “The lawyer was a wolf in disguise. His questions were initially friendly, but he lured me into a false sense of security.”

Lady Gaga Lyrics: Red and Blue

Yeah I am red, you are blue

I’m old school and you’re so new

Old school: If someone is considered to be old school they are very traditional in their ways and thinking. It can be a negative term if the person described as being old school is being criticized for living in the past.

Example: “His teaching methods are just so old school. I hate his lessons.”

However, the term old school can also mean hip, cool and retro:

Example: “The DJ played some really cool old school tunes.”

Lady Gaga Lyrics: Starstruck

So starstruck, baby could you blow my heart up?

I’m so starstruck

Star struck:Starstruck is used to describe someone who is totally in awe of someone else’s celebrity status.

Example: “I was so starstruck when I met Lady Gaga that I couldn’t speak.”

Lady Gaga Lyrics: Wonderful

Poker Face Idiom Examples

Looking for something crazy

beautiful nothing

now I’m talking in circles again

Taking in circles: To talk at length without making any real sense.

Example: “I couldn’t understand a thing that she was saying. She was talking in circles.”

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Looking for more fun ways to learn idioms? Take a look at our guide to idioms about the human body.