Why do we say in spades

In case one catches cold; Ah, yes! The commander-in-chief still kept him attached to the headquarter staff, and constantly employed him on special service. So far Murat had always held subordinate commands; his great ambition was to become the commander-in-chief of an independent army.

Their jurisdictions overlapped and the Gascon would play second fiddle to no one save to his great brother-in-law.

But the novel disappeared under the clothes with amazing celerity as the voice of her sister-in-law demanded admission. New Word List Word List. Improve this question. Looking up the meaning of a word or phrase is precisely what dictionaries are there for. Please use them. If you still have questions left after that, we welcome them, but this site is not meant as a dictionary lookup service. In fact looking up something in a dictionary of your choice is much, much faster than typing up an entire question here.

Thank you. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. Cyberherbalist Cyberherbalist 7, 3 3 gold badges 25 25 silver badges 54 54 bronze badges. I think the meaning of "quantity" came next, but it's definitely there now.

The figurative meaning, that is, the non-cards-related 'very greatly' meaning, isn't found before the s. The American journalist and writer Damon Runyon used the expression that way in a piece for Hearst's International magazine, in October It isn't possible to be sure that the figurative 'in spades' derives from Bridge, but the coincidence of the time and place of the origin of the expression and the popularity of the card game certainly does suggest a connection.

See other phrases that were coined in the USA. In spades What's the meaning of the phrase 'In spades'?