According to Hoyle

According to Hoyle
   Although card-playing was a favorite among the wealthy for many generations, it was not until the seventeenth century that the manufacture of inexpensive decks of cards enabled the masses to enjoy this game. Cards soon became the rage throughout Europe. The game that held an irresistible attraction for the English was whist, the forerunner of bridge. Whist could be played according to dozens of systems, which led Edmund Hoyle, an English writer (1672-1769), to write a book of rules called A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist (1742); the book eventually became the accepted authority on the playing of the game. Hoyle soon wrote on other popular card games and was quickly regarded as the authority on them, too.
   As Hoyle's expertise on the correct play of a game gained exposure, many people would frequently consult his books to see whether the procedure being followed met approval. If the play followed the rules set forth by Hoyle, its correctness was beyond dispute. Because of the frequent and widespread reference to Hoyle, whenever someone wished to indicate that everything was in order, that it was being handled properly— whether or not card-playing was involved—the saying "It is according to Hoyle," came to refer to the final authority in any field. Incidentally, Hoyle must have lived his life according to the rules because he laid down his last trump at the age of ninety-seven.

Dictionary of eponyms. . 2013.

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  • according to Hoyle — according to the rules, if we follow the rules    According to Hoyle, it s your turn to deal the cards …   English idioms

  • according to Hoyle — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) adj. & adv. by the book, comme il faut, kosher. See rightness, conformity. II (Roget s 3 Superthesaurus) Sl. according to the ultimate authority, according to the guy who wrote the rule book, an idiom… …   English dictionary for students

  • according to hoyle — ˈhȯil, ȯi(ə)l phrasal Usage: usually capitalized H Etymology: after Edmond Hoyle †1769 Eng. writer and authority on games, whose treatises, especially on whist (1742), became famous : in agreement with standard practice or rules : in conformity …   Useful english dictionary

  • according\ to\ Hoyle — strictly by the rules, the usual and correct way to do something According to Hoyle you are not allowed to enter this room but if nobody is here I think it will be okay …   Idioms and examples

  • according to Hoyle — according to plan or the rules. → Hoyle …   English new terms dictionary

  • according to Hoyle — according to the rules; by the regulation book …   English contemporary dictionary

  • according to Hoyle — Synonyms and related words: according to regulations, according to rule, appropriate, by the book, by the numbers, condign, correct, decent, decorous, due, fit, fitting, good, kosher, nice, normal, normative, proper, right, right and proper,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • according to Hoyle — idi according to the rules …   From formal English to slang

  • Hoyle's Games — Жанры Настольные игры Карточные игры Казино Разработчики Sierra Entertainment Издатели Sierra Entertainment Платформы PC Первая игра Hoyle s Official Book of Ga …   Википедия

  • Hoyle — [hoil] n. a book of rules and instructions for indoor games, esp. card games, orig. compiled by Edmond Hoyle (1672 1769), English authority on card games and chess according to Hoyle according to the rules and regulations; in the prescribed, fair …   English World dictionary

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