Stack the deck

Meaning

The idiom "stack the deck" means to rig or manipulate a situation or game in your favor, so that you have an unfair advantage over others. It suggests that you are trying to stack cards or create conditions that will give you a better chance of winning. Example sentences:

• The politicians were accused of stacking the deck to ensure their re-election.
• The company tried to stack the deck by hiring only loyal employees.
• The game was rigged, and they were stacking the deck against me from the start.

Usage

The usage of "stack the deck" can vary depending on the context. It can be used in a variety of situations where someone is trying to gain an unfair advantage over others, such as politics, business, or sports. Here are five example sentences that demonstrate its usage:

• The politician's campaign was accused of stacking the deck by making false promises and misrepresenting their record.
• The company tried to stack the deck by offering bonuses to employees who met certain targets, giving them an incentive to work harder than their colleagues.
• The athlete's performance was criticized for being a result of performance-enhancing drugs, which they were accused of stacking the deck in their favor.
• The student cheated on their exam by stacking the deck by looking at someone else's paper.
• The game was rigged because the referee seemed to be stacking the deck against the opposing team, making calls that went against them.

Roots and History

The origin of "stack the deck" is not entirely clear, but it is believed to have originated in the 18th century. It may have been used in card games, where players would try to stack the deck by manipulating the cards in their hand to give themselves an advantage over their opponents. Over time, the phrase became associated with any situation in which someone tried to stack the odds in their favor. The meaning of "stack the deck" has remained relatively consistent over time, but it may have become less commonly used in some contexts as people's awareness of cheating and manipulation has increased. There do not appear to be significant cultural or regional variations in the usage of this idiom.

Synonyms in English

• Rigged
• Manipulated
• Fixed
• Biased
• Skewed

Synonyms in other languages

• Spanish: manipular
• French: manipuler
• German: verfälschen
• Italian: truccare
• Portuguese: truir

Similar Idioms

• speak of the devil

• safe bet

• son of a gun