grand slam
1. In the card game bridge, the winning of all thirteen tricks on one deal of the game. I've been playing bridge for years, but I've still never been able to make a grand slam. I have no idea what a grand slam is. I'm just learning how to play bridge! Grandpa says he's made a grand slam in bridge before, but none of us believe him.
2. baseball A homerun that is achieved when all three bases have runners on them. It looked like the home team was in for a sure loss, but a grand slam at the last minute edged them ahead of their opponents. I can believe that rookie hit a grand slam in his first major league at-bat! Don't go up there trying to hit a grand slam, just hit something to the right side of the field so the runner on third can score.
3. sports The winning of all major championships or tournaments in a single year, especially in tennis or golf. Often capitalized in this usage. The young player shocked the tennis world by winning a Grand Slam in her first year at the professional level. Who was the last golfer to win a grand slam? Does it happen a lot? Do you know how hard it is to win a Grand Slam—all the major championships in your sport in one year?
4. By extension, any total, sweeping victory or success. With the Ohio votes in her favor, it looks like the new president has managed a grand slam. Congress is so divided right now that a grand slam on any issue seems unlikely. Wow, if this candidate can sweep all the swing states, she might be verging on a grand slam.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
grand slam
A sweeping success or total victory, as in This presentation gave us a grand slam-every buyer placed an order. This term originated in the early 1800s in the card game of whist (forerunner of contract bridge), where it refers to the taking of all thirteen tricks. It later was extended to bridge and various sports, where it has different meanings: in baseball, a home run hit with runners on all the bases, resulting in four runs for the team; in tennis, winning all four national championships in a single calendar year; in golf, winning all four major championships. In the 1990s the term was used for four related proposals presented on a ballot at once.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.