joker
nounUK /ˈd͡ʒəʊkə/ · US /ˈd͡ʒoʊkɚ/
Etymology From joke + -er, but in the sense of a playing card possibly by alteration of German Jucker, also the origin of the name of the card game euchre.
12 senses
- 1A person who makes jokes.
- 2A funny person.
- 3A jester.
- 4A playing card that features a picture of a joker (that…
- 5Something kept in reserve that can be used to gain an…
- 6An unspecified, vaguely disreputable person.
- 7A loser.
- 8A man.
- 9A clause in a contract that undermines its apparent provisions.
- 10A friendly unit that acts as a suspected hostile unit in…
- 11The option, in a pub quiz, of selecting one particular…
- 12A fairy chess piece that moves like the last piece that…
A person who makes jokes.
Slang A funny person.
A jester.
A playing card that features a picture of a joker (that is, a jester) and that may be used as a wild card in some card games.
Figuratively Something kept in reserve that can be used to gain an advantage; a trump card.
- Rebus decided to use their joker. 'Mr Lintz made a phone call to this office. He was talking for over twenty minutes.'2008 September 18, Ian Rankin, The Hanging Garden: The #1 bestselling series that inspired BBC One’s REBUS, Hachette UK, →ISBN:
- Tash Wilson played her 'joker' , pulling her chair so close our legs were almost touching. 'Hey, Chris, do you want to go out sometime? All you've got to do is say the word.'2012 January 1, Simon Packham, Silenced, Bonnier Publishing Fiction Ltd., →ISBN:
1 more example
- The director made me understand that my bubble of stardom could burst just as soon as it had been inflated if I didn't watch my attitude. Then he used his joker. I had an understudy so if I messed up or tried to create a scene, I would be summarily replaced.2016 October 17, Dipo Adesida, My French Teacher Had an Igbo Accent: An Inspiring Collection of Memories, Memoirs and Mischiefs, Partridge Africa, →ISBN:
An unspecified, vaguely disreputable person.
- Some joker keeps throwing eggs at my windows.
A loser.
- Don't waste your breath on these jokers round here.
New Zealand, Colloquial A man.
A clause in a contract that undermines its apparent provisions.
- Discussion of contracts and the many provisions contained therein led to a vote making it the sense of the convention that manufacturers should use a simple sales contract, free from jokers.1922, Farm Machinery and Equipment, page lxxxiii:
- Then, sir, on page 12 of the agreement there is a joker clause, which provides for payments in addition to the ten per cent, […]1939, Canadian Parliament, Official Report of Debates, House of Commons, volume 218, page 858:
2 more examples
- Stone claimed that there was a Joker in the contract, one clause (No. 2) calling for two weeks' notice and another (No. 8) calling for payment on a par-day basis after the first two weeks.1942, Billboard, volume 54, number 41, page 5:
- The object of these provisions is to prevent insertion of "jokers" or "sleepers" in bills and securing passage under the false color of the title.1958, Duncan Leroy Kennedy, Bill drafting, page 12:
Government, Military, Politics, War A friendly unit that acts as a suspected hostile unit in a military excercise.
- Joker - A friendly track or contact acting as a "suspect" track for exercise purposes only. (STANAG 1241)1998, APP-6A: Military Symbols for Land-Based Systems, page 9:
The option, in a pub quiz, of selecting one particular round in which one's team will score double points.
- We used our joker as soon as the topic of sports was announced, since we are sport experts.
Board games, Chess, Games A fairy chess piece that moves like the last piece that was moved by the opponent.
- The problem is that it would be difficult to use a joker offensively since you could never know how it was going to move, meaning it’d be most useful setting it up for potential queen/rook captures to disincentivize your opponent from moving those pieces.2018 October 12, aabicus, “My 7 Favorite Fairy Chess Pieces”, in The Daily SPUF:
- Synonyms
- buffoon, clown, comedian, comic, cutup, funnyman, gagman, gagster, giber, humorist, jackpudding, joker, jokester, wag, wit
- Derived terms
- cosmic joker, joker in the pack, joker lap, practical joker, video joker
- Related terms
- joke, 🂿, 🃏, 🃟, life and soul of the party, life of the party, jest, witty, ridicule
- Hypernyms
- person
- Hyponyms
- bel esprit, buffo, burlesquer, caricaturist, droll, epigrammatist, fool, gagwriter, idiot, ironist, jokesmith, lampooner, madcap, parodist, pasquinader, prankster, punner, punster, quipster, satirist, wiseacre, wisecracker, wit-cracker