Misere - French & English Meanings
Misere has an accent mark over the first 'e'.
The meaning of the word in French compared with English is quite different. Based on some comments in another thread, some individuals
would like to know some more about the word 'misere'. Can anyone help them?
I have never heard the word before in English.
So I did dictionary checks and it doesn't exist as an English word or entry (dictionary.reference.com)
The French word "misère" means "armth" or "poverty", but outside of it being used as a foreign word (in card games, etc) it doesn't exist.
I'm assuming he means "misery." The meaning in English overlaps, but it's not quite the same...
Misère - It is a bid in the card game 500, which is somewhat like Bridge.
You can win up to 10 tricks in a round of 500.
Misère is the bid between 7 no trumps and 8 spades.
It means that you need to lose every trick, but by doing so you actually win 250 points.
Open misère is the highest bid possible, even higher than 10 no trumps.
520 points is gained if open misère is successful. The person playing open misere must display all of his/her cards from the start of play.
Lay down misère is an open misere that does not need to be played because it is obvious that the person playing it is going to gain the 520 points.
In English, "lay down misère" has come to mean a certainity or actually
something more certain than a certainity. Yo may well ask, how can you have something more certain than a certainity? I know that in theory you cannot, however this question is beyond the scope of this thread.
misere is not an english word. Even "misery' is not.
Please tell Mr. King. He wrote the book.
it's like apropos
it's not an English word