Card-sharp, card shark

Card-sharp

Meaning

Someone who is skilful at playing or manipulating cards, or one who makes a living by cheating at cards.

Origin

'Card-sharp', which is sometimes spelled either 'card sharp' or 'cardsharp', might be thought by some to be a misspelling of 'card-shark'. The latter is the more commonly used of the two synonymous phrases, especially outside the UK, which is one of the few countries to prefer card-sharp. It is sometimes suggested that one term derived from the other. There's no clear evidence to support that view, although if it is the case then it must have gone from 'sharp' to 'shark' as 'card-sharp' appears to be the older term.