Many dictionaries say the definition of "deuce" is "one of the four
playing cards in a deck that have two spots"
http://www.onelook.com/?w=deuce&ls=a.  I cannot understand this.  Dont
all cards have two spots, or two marks?  How can only four cards have two spots?

Hello davidjhp,

For your convenience, I'll lay out the first several definitions from
the OneLook list you've cited:

- "a playing card bearing an index number two"

"(1)deuce"
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=deuce

- "the number two on dice or playing cards"

"deuce(1)"
AskOxford [Compact Oxford English Dictionary]
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/deuce_1?view=uk

- "card with two spots: a playing card or the face of a dice that has two spots"

"deuce (1)"
MSN Encarta [Dictionary]
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861604180

- "the word for 'two' in some card and dice games"

"deuce"
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=21286&dict=CALD

- "in games and sports, a two, esp. a playing card or face of a die
with a value of two"

"deuce(1)"
Wordsmyth
http://www.wordsmyth.net/live/home.php?script=search&matchid=11283&returnFields=PRO%2CDEF%2CSIC%2CDER%2CCRF%2CINF%2CEXA%2CSYC%2CSYN%2CSIM%2CSYL%2CPHR

- "A playing card having two spots"

"deuce(1)" (The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language:
Fourth Edition, 2000)
Bartleby.com 
http://www.bartleby.com/61/45/D0174500.html

- "Cards. a card having two pips; a two, or two-spot"

"deuce"
Infoplease
http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/deuce

In sum, a "deuce" is a card that has the number or value of two, with
two spots, and which may also be described by the word "two."  It
might help to look at a deck of standard playing cards:

"Playing Cards"
Jfitz.com
http://www.jfitz.com/cards/

Four of those cards -- two of clubs, two of hearts, two of spades, and
two of diamonds, also known as deuce of clubs, deuce of hearts, deuce
of spades, and deuce of diamonds -- have the value "2".  They each
have two spots (shaped like clubs, hearts, spades, or diamonds) in the
center of the card.  The only significance of those two spots in the
center of the card is to reflect the numerical value "2".  Likewise,
the four cards with three spots in the middle signify the number "3",
and so on.

All cards have two corners that are marked.  But those marks, as
opposed to the spots in the center, do not signify that the cards have
the value "2".

I hope that this information is helpful.  Please let me know if you
need clarification of this answer.

- justaskscott


Research strategy --

Relied in part on prior knowledge of playing cards.

Searched on Google for following terms in various combinations:

deuce
playing cards
deck
images
pip

Hello davidjhp:
  Deuces are cards with a value of "2".  They decorated with two
symbols of their type.  For instance:  A deuce of spades is decorated
with two number twos and two large spades.

You have the following card suits:  Diamonds, Spades, Clubs, and
Hearts.  Each type has a deuce (2), 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J (Jack),
Q (Queen), K (King), and A (Ace).

Thus, four card suits (diamonds, spades, clubs, and hearts) have one
deuce.  This means that there are only four deuces in a deck.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_cards

I hope this helps!

, mb2024