# Slang Etymology: A "card" is an entertaining person?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-etymology-a-card-is-an-entertaining-person/849213>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 10, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-etymology-a-card-is-an-entertaining-person/849213 "2020-03-10T17:24:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-etymology-a-card-is-an-entertaining-person/849213/1 "2020-03-10T17:24:28Z")

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What is the etomology of the word “card” when it is used to mean an odd or entertaining person? I’ve been familiar with this meaning for years - my Grandfather used to use it. But I’m not sure how this bit of slang developed. Any thoughts?

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**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-etymology-a-card-is-an-entertaining-person/849213/2 "2020-03-10T17:48:34Z")

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There doesn’t appear to be a [clear answer](https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/151915/etymology-of-card-referring-to-an-eccentric-person), although most speculation is that it comes either from playing cards or from carding wool. It was used in several works by Charles Dickens.

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**Author:** ![Bert\_Nobbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@Bert\_Nobbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bert_Nobbins)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-etymology-a-card-is-an-entertaining-person/849213/3 "2020-03-10T17:53:51Z")

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The most famous use of the word is in a novel by Arnold Bennett:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Card](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Card)

It was later made into a film:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Card\_(1952\_film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Card_(1952_film))

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-etymology-a-card-is-an-entertaining-person/849213/4 "2020-03-10T19:11:22Z")

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The OED indicates it probably comes from the phrase “sure card,” meaning something that is certain to succeed. Dickens is the first person quoted in the sense you’re asking. It seemed to have evolved from “sure card” to something like “odd card” to just plain “card.”

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**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-etymology-a-card-is-an-entertaining-person/849213/5 "2020-03-10T19:12:14Z")

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[Etymonline thinks it knows](https://www.etymonline.com/word/card):

> [@etymonline.com](#):
>
> Application to clever or original persons (1836, originally with an adjective, as in smart card) is from the playing-card sense, via expressions such as sure card “an expedient certain to attain an object” (c. 1560).

ETA: Ninja’ed by **RealityChuck**