the race card

the race card
*the race card
Cliché the issue of race magnified and injected into a situation which might otherwise be nonracial. (*Typically: deal \the race card; play \the race card; use \the race card.) •

At the last minute, the opposition candidate played the race card and lost the election for himself.


Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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  • play the race card — To introduce the topic of race for one s own advantage, often to impute racism to an opponent or to appeal to a racist audience. • • • Main Entry: ↑race * * * play the ˈrace card idiom (disapproving) to criticize people who belong to different… …   Useful english dictionary

  • play the race card — verb To assert that race or racism is responsible for a course of events, especially when race is not of particular significance to the issue in question; to attempt to inspire a particular reaction by raising the issue of race. The defense… …   Wiktionary

  • Race card — Playing the race card is an idiomatic phrase that refers to the act of bringing the issue of race or racism into a debate, perhaps to obfuscate the matter. It is a metaphorical reference to card games in which a trump card may be used to gain an… …   Wikipedia

  • race card — noun : the issue of a person s race as it relates to a particular contest (as a political campaign or a court trial) often used in the phrase play the race card * * * race card, 1. racial prejudice, especially when used as part of a plan or… …   Useful english dictionary

  • play the race card — Meaning Attempt to gain advantage in an election by pandering to the electorate s racism. Origin Coined in England in the 1960s. Following an influx of immigrants into the UK in the 1950/60s the Conservative candidate in an election for the… …   Meaning and origin of phrases

  • race card — /ˈreɪs kad/ (say rays kahd) noun a card on which is published the program for a race meeting. Also, card …  

  • race card — noun a) The invocation of a persons race in a discussion in order to score points in that discussion. b) A listing of all horses to be run in a horse race …   Wiktionary

  • The Ant and the Grasshopper — also known as The Grasshopper and the Ant or The Grasshopper and the Ants , is a fable attributed to Aesop, providing a moral lesson about hard work and preparation. In the numbering system established for Aesopic fables by B. E. Perry, it is nu …   Wikipedia

  • race — race1 W2S2 [reıs] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(sport)¦ 2¦(people)¦ 3¦(get/do something first)¦ 4¦(do something quickly)¦ 5¦(prize/power)¦ 6¦(horse race)¦ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [Sense: 1, 3 6; Date: 1200 1300; : Old Norse; Origin: ras going quickly, running …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • card — I. transitive verb Date: 14th century to cleanse, disentangle, and collect together (as fibers) by the use of cards preparatory to spinning • carder noun II. noun Etymology: Middle English carde, from Medieval Latin cardus, carduus, thistle,… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • race — I. /reɪs / (say rays) noun 1. a contest of speed, as in running, riding, driving, sailing, etc. 2. (plural) a series of races, especially horseraces or greyhound races run at a set time over a regular course. 3. any contest or competition: an… …  

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