Word.ws English Dictionary

playing the hand one is dealt

playing the hand one is dealt is the present participle and gerund of play the hand one is dealt.

Meaning of play the hand one is dealt

Verb

play the hand one is dealt (third-person singular simple present plays the hand one is dealt, present participle playing the hand one is dealt, simple past and past participle played the hand one was dealt)

  1. (idiomatic, informal) To use the resources which one actually has available; to operate realistically, within the limits of one's circumstances.
    • "Don't you care. Play the hand that's dealt you and let the boss worry."1919, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 6, in Oh, You Tex

Questions about playing the hand one is dealt

What is playing the hand one is dealt the present participle and gerund of?
Playing the hand one is dealt is the present participle and gerund of play the hand one is dealt.

Words near playing the hand one is dealt in the dictionary

  1. playing the field
  2. playing the fool
  3. playing the game
  4. playing the giddy goat
  5. playing the giddy ox
  6. playing the hand one is dealt
  7. playing the man
  8. playing the man and not the ball
  9. playing the man not the ball
  10. playing the man, not the ball
  11. playing the mischief with

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: playing the hand one is dealt (page history and authors); play the hand one is dealt (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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