ace (redirected from holding all the aces)

*black as a skillet and *black as a stack of black cats; *black as a sweep; *black as coal; *black as night; *black as pitch; *black as the ace of spades

completely dark or black. (*Also: as ~.) I don't want to go down to the cellar. It's as black as a skillet down there. Her hair was black as a stack of black cats. After playing in the mud all morning, the children were as black as night. The stranger's clothes were all black as pitch.

See also: black, skillet

ace someone out

to maneuver someone out; to win out over someone. Martha aced out Rebecca to win the first place trophy.

See also: out

ace in the hole and someone's ace in the hole

Fig. something important held in reserve. The twenty-dollar bill I keep in my shoe is my ace in the hole.

See also: hole

ace in(to something)

to be lucky in getting admitted to something. I aced into the history class at the last minute.

ace out

to be fortunate or lucky. Freddy aced out at the dentist's office with only one cavity.

See also: out

ace out (of something)

to get out of something through luck; to evade or avoid something narrowly. I just aced out of having to take the math test!

See also: out

come within an ace of something

to come very close to [doing] something. I came within an ace of leaving school. I'm glad you talked me out of it. Donna came within an ace of having an accident.

See also: come, within

have something up one's sleeve and have an ace up one's sleeve

Fig. to have a secret or surprise plan or solution (to a problem). (Alludes to cheating at cards by having a card hidden in one's sleeve.) I've got something up my sleeve, and it should solve all your problems. I'll tell you what it is after I'm elected. The manager has an ace up her sleeve. She'll surprise us with it later.

See also: have, sleeve, up

hold all the aces and hold all the cards

to be in a favorable position; to be in a controlling position. (Alludes to having possession of all four aces or all the high cards in a card game.) How can I advance in my career when my competitor holds all the aces? If I held all the aces, I'd be able to do great things. I tried to get my points across, but Joan held all the cards and the board voted for her plan.

See also: hold

within an ace of (doing) something and within a hair('s breadth) of something

very close to doing something. I came within an ace of getting into an accident. We were within an ace of beating the all-time record. We were within a hair's breadth of beating the all-time record.

See also: within

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an ace in the hole  (American)

an advantage that you have that other people do not know about The local team has an ace in the hole with their new player.

See also: hole

come within an ace of something/doing something

to almost achieve something Linford Christie came within an ace of the world indoor record for the 100m last night.

See also: come, within

have something up your sleeve

to have a secret idea or plan If this trip doesn't work out I've still got a few ideas up my sleeve.

See also: have, sleeve, up

have an ace up your sleeve

to have an advantage that other people do not know about The new game show has an ace up its sleeve. It will allow viewers to play from home and win prizes.

See also: have, sleeve, up

have/hold all the aces

to be in a strong position when you are competing with someone else, because you have all the advantages In the battle between road builders and environmentalists, the road builders seem to hold all the aces.

See also: have

play your ace

to do the thing that you know will bring you success The prosecutor played her ace, the results of the DNA tests on samples taken from the victim's clothing.

See also: play