Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A series of plays in games of the whist family in which partnership hands alternately trump suits led by the other partner.
  • intransitive verb To perform a crossruff or a series of crossruffs.
  • intransitive verb To trump (one's partner's lead or a lead from the dummy) in alternating plays.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In whist, a double ruff; a see-saw (which see).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Whist) The play in bridge or whist where partners trump each a different suit, and lead to each other for that purpose; -- called also seesaw.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun bridge A play in which tricks are taken by taking alternate ruffs in each hand
  • verb To execute a crossruff

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb trump alternately in two hands

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

cross +‎ ruff

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Examples

  • He can cash the top diamonds and clubs and start a crossruff.

    Bridge 2010

  • At today's slam South opted to try for a crossruff.

    Bridge 2010

  • So guilt would have been irrational as I enjoyed the chef's artful crossruff of textures -- the chewy puffin playing against the more brittle sunchoke and hazelnuts, with an overall sea-saltiness prevailing amid the Gallic refinement of the sauce.

    Icelandic Dining After the Collapse 2009

  • “Unusual type of crossruff with a singleton trump in dummy,” remarked Peregrine the Penguin.

    VICTOR MOLLO’S BRIDGE CLUB VICTOR MOLLO 1979

  • Without another word of abuse, he proceeded to reel off six more tricks on a crossruff.

    VICTOR MOLLO’S BRIDGE CLUB VICTOR MOLLO 1979

  • Without another word of abuse, he proceeded to reel off six more tricks on a crossruff.

    VICTOR MOLLO’S BRIDGE CLUB VICTOR MOLLO 1979

  • “Unusual type of crossruff with a singleton trump in dummy,” remarked Peregrine the Penguin.

    VICTOR MOLLO’S BRIDGE CLUB VICTOR MOLLO 1979

  • Without another word of abuse, he proceeded to reel off six more tricks on a crossruff.

    VICTOR MOLLO’S BRIDGE CLUB VICTOR MOLLO 1979

  • “Unusual type of crossruff with a singleton trump in dummy,” remarked Peregrine the Penguin.

    VICTOR MOLLO’S BRIDGE CLUB VICTOR MOLLO 1979

  • When West showed out, discarding a spade, declarer set about a crossruff - one trick too late.

    STLtoday.com Top News Headlines 2010

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