elder hand

American  

noun

1. eldest hand.

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Etymology

Origin of elder hand

First recorded in 1580–90

Example Sentences

A and B play at Piquet, B being the dealer, and A the elder hand.

From Hoyle's Games Modernized by Hoffmann, Louis

The laws prescribe that the scores, whether obtained by the elder hand or by the dealer, shall be reckoned in the following order of precedence—viz.:

From Hoyle's Games Modernized by Hoffmann, Louis

Each player who follows the elder hand must head the trick if he can, or be looed.

From Enquire Within Upon Everything The Great Victorian Domestic Standby by Anonymous

Can the elder hand BEG more than once?

From Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson — Volume 2 by Stevenson, Robert Louis

First Play.—The elder hand, the player on the left of the dealer, plays first.

From Enquire Within Upon Everything The Great Victorian Domestic Standby by Anonymous