# What's some solitaire lingo? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 9, 2012, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-some-solitaire-lingo/608985 "2012-01-09T23:19:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-some-solitaire-lingo/608985/1 "2012-01-09T23:19:01Z")
I’m thinking that people who play a lot of solitaire probably have little names for the quirks of the game. For example, maybe there’s a term for a deal in which you have no move with the cards that are dealt. Or maybe there’s a term for cards that are dealt and they’re all real low, or all real high. In fact, maybe there’s a term for the array of cards that are dealt, maybe “field”? Anyway, are there some terms or words that “professional” solitaire players use to refer to the game? I’m referring to the basic solitaire game where there are seven piles with an up card on top of each pile and you turn over three cards at a time. Dopers? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-some-solitaire-lingo/608985/2 "2012-01-09T23:39:38Z")
You play solitaire by yourself. Even if someone invents their own terminology to talk to themself about it, it is not going to ‘catch on’ and become a ‘lingo’, because no-one else is going to hear it ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-some-solitaire-lingo/608985/3 "2012-01-09T23:41:14Z")
I’ve heard/read that “Grace” means cheating/getting an ace out of the deck to help you out/get your game going. That’s all I’ve got, though. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-some-solitaire-lingo/608985/4 "2012-01-10T00:33:47Z")
Here is a link to a few general terms: > **[Solitaire terminology](https://cards.fandom.com/wiki/Solitaire_terminology)** > > There are a number of common features in many solitaire (patience) games, such as 'building down' and the 'foundations' and 'tableau', used to simplify the description of new games. Here is a partial list. Stack - Cards are placed directly on top of... ---
**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:** [January 10, 2012, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-some-solitaire-lingo/608985/5 "2012-01-10T02:31:40Z")
I don’t know the terminology, but just because you play by yourself doesn’t mean there isn’t any. Solitaire is played in Las Vegas as a betting game and so I would expect there to be enthusiasts that discuss techniques and brag about their best games, etc., just as with poker. You don’t have to talk about “the river” and “the flop” when you’re \*playing \*Texas Hold 'Em, you talk about it when you tell war stories about that hand that you won or lost. I expect solitaire is similar. But I don’t know any solitaire freaks. The terms linked by \*\*tomndebb \*\*are common to most solitaire games, not just the one that most people know (sometimes called Klondike). I used to have a book about how to play dozens of solitaire games and it used all those terms. ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-some-solitaire-lingo/608985/6 "2012-01-10T03:36:58Z")
I’m often addicted to the iPod version of solitaire (“Klondike”), which is a slightly different game from the Windows version. It hasn’t occurred to me to invent any lingo for it, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-some-solitaire-lingo/608985/7 "2012-01-10T03:49:38Z")
Moving to the Game Room. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-some-solitaire-lingo/608985/8 "2012-01-10T06:58:58Z")
> [@heathen\_earthling](#): > > I’m often addicted to the iPod version of solitaire (“Klondike”), which is a slightly different game from the Windows version. It hasn’t occurred to me to invent any lingo for it, sorry. What’s different? Windows solitaire is a Klondike solitaire program.