# Card shark or Card sharp? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 19, 2019, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370 "2019-03-19T14:56:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StraightTalk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straighttalk/32/9982_2.png) [@StraightTalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StraightTalk)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/1 "2019-03-19T14:56:35Z")
Which do you think it is? I’ve always heard Card shark. And there was a game show named that so it has to be right. Doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/2 "2019-03-19T15:14:09Z")
Card shark, pool shark, loan shark. If someone is saying “card sharp” they didn’t hear it right. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/3 "2019-03-19T15:28:14Z")
I avoid descriptive/prescriptive arguments, so I’ll say this. It was originally “card sharp”, but now both seem to be used (probably due to people like **CookingWithGas** not hearing it right :D). Cite: > **[Card sharp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_sharp)** > > A card sharp (also cardsharp, card shark or cardshark, sometimes hyphenated) is a person who uses skill and/or deception to win at poker or other card games. "Sharp" and "shark" spellings have varied over time and by region. > The label is not always intended as pejorative, and is sometimes used to refer to practitioners of card tricks for entertainment purposes. In general usage, principally in American English and more commonly with the "shark" spelling, the term has also taken on the meaning o... There’s a picture there from _1594_(!) called The Cardsharps. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/4 "2019-03-19T15:28:32Z")
“Card sharp” is absolutely a term, especially in Britain. It goes back at least four or five hundred years. “Shark” has definitely taken over, though. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/5 "2019-03-19T15:29:07Z")
According to the [Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_sharp), “shark” predates “sharp” as a term for someone who preys on others, but “card sharp” predates “card shark”. > [@](#): > > “Sharp” developed in the 17th century from this meaning of “shark” (as apparently did the use of “shark” as a name for the fish), but the phrase “card sharp” predates the variant “card shark”. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/6 "2019-03-19T15:35:10Z")
Never ever heard ‘card sharp’ before. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/7 "2019-03-19T15:45:44Z")
Sharp; much like my clan calls anyone good/above average a “sharp” of one kind or another. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/8 "2019-03-19T15:51:15Z")
“Card sharp” is what I’ve always heard, and as mentioned above, is the original (and correct) term. “Card shark” is a folk etymological error based on a mishearing an uncommon word in a fossilized phrase and interpreting it as a more common word, like “cold slaw” for “cole slaw” or “butt naked” for “buck naked”. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/9 "2019-03-19T15:53:16Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > but now both seem to be used (probably due to people like **CookingWithGas** not hearing it right :D). :o OK I’m wrong, but I’ll admit it only because you put the little smiley face :o ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/10 "2019-03-19T16:18:55Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I avoid descriptive/prescriptive arguments, so I’ll say this. It was originally “card sharp”, but now both seem to be used (probably due to people like **CookingWithGas** not hearing it right :D). > > Cite: > > [Card sharp - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_sharp) > > There’s a picture there from _1594_(!) called The Cardsharps. This. It was originally ‘card shar **p**.’ But evolution of language being what it is, ‘card shar **k** ’ is more commonly used now. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/11 "2019-03-19T16:30:49Z")
Card sharp, Pool shark. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/12 "2019-03-19T17:45:50Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > This. It was originally ‘card shar **p**.’ But evolution of language being what it is, ‘card shar **k** ’ is more commonly used now. [Grammarist](https://grammarist.com/usage/card-shark-card-sharp/) says that card sharp is still more common in British English, but card shark is in the US, Canada and Australia. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/13 "2019-03-19T18:32:30Z")
‘Card Sharp’ seems to be the original but ‘Card Shark’ is well understood. The two phrases are synonymous, but I don’t think that many USAians recognize ‘Card Sharp’ and probably think it’s mispronounced. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/14 "2019-03-19T18:39:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > ‘Card Sharp’ seems to be the original but ‘Card Shark’ is well understood. The two phrases are synonymous, but I don’t think that many USAians recognize ‘Card Sharp’ and probably think it’s mispronounced. I don’t think they have exactly the same connotations, though. “Sharp” has more of an implication of cheating, and merely implies that the player has a lot of skill, whereas “Shark” connotes actual expertness, with the mere implication that they might not entirely be on the up and up, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/15 "2019-03-19T18:45:55Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I don’t think they have exactly the same connotations, though. “Sharp” has more of an implication of cheating, and merely implies that the player has a lot of skill, whereas “Shark” connotes actual expertness, with the mere implication that they might not entirely be on the up and up, IMO. I’ve never thought of it that way. I know a couple of card sharp/ks and they’re pretty well versed in how to cheat. I’ll assume they’re honest and need to know how to cheat so they don’t get cheated. And I know from one game one of them did cheat to counter another cheater, which I’d say was fair under the circumstances. You could make that distinction between the terms, but it may go over the heads of most people, and people might be inclined to doubt the existence of an honest ‘card shark’. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/16 "2019-03-19T19:00:25Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Card sharp, Pool shark. Ditto. But card shark appears to be winning, both here and in the world at large. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/17 "2019-03-19T19:20:04Z")
You ever see a game show called Card Sharps? I didn’t think so. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YCHlQAiwAYY/hqdefault.jpg "Card Sharks - First Show with Bob Eubanks") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCHlQAiwAYY) To me card sharp seemed antiquated and in books set in the past, usually the Old West. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/18 "2019-03-19T21:51:53Z")
Benjamin Franklin famously complained: “For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen as the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perch’d on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him. With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping and Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy…” I’ve always supposed “shark” was said in error by people who misheard. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2019, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/19 "2019-03-20T00:01:06Z")
Grew up knowing it as ‘card sharp’. Didn’t have sharks in the midwest, and they didn’t really start gaining popularity there until **Jaws**. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2019, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370/20 "2019-03-20T00:44:45Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > According to the [Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_sharp), “shark” predates “sharp” as a term for someone who preys on others, but “card sharp” predates “card shark”. How funny. My brother and I were just talking about this exact subject on Sunday at dinner, and Googled this exact bit of info. People get worried that Facebook is listening to their conversations–I’m worried the Straight Dope is listening to mine! :eek: Anyhow, while I am familiar with both phrases, “card shark” is the one I’m more used to, due to the TV gameshow, and an (unrelated) Accolade game for the C64 with the same name. (Fun playing a game of hearts against Gorby, Thatcher, and Ronnie! I actually do believe that where I learned how to play hearts, in fact.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-shark-or-card-sharp/831370.md?page=2)