dead man's hand

noun

, Poker.

1. a hand containing the two pairs of two aces and two eights.

Example Sentences

The dead man’s hand was propped back on the headrest of my seat, holding a crisp, neatly folded twenty dollar bill between the index and middle fingers.

From Literature

As a result, quizzing lays itself open to the accusation that it doesn’t try hard enough to be inclusive, and that it is content largely to be a space into which men can escape to hang out with other men – like poker nights, but for nerds who happen to know why a two-pair of black eights and aces is called a Dead Man’s Hand.

From The Guardian

There’s even a sly reference to “aces and eights,” poker-playing Wild Bill Hickok’s famous dead man’s hand.

From Los Angeles Times

Consider Crystal Weimer, a single mother of three whose murder conviction was largely based on assertions that wounds on a dead man’s hand were made by Weimer’s teeth.

From Nature

“Dinosaurs found themselves holding basically a dead man's hand,” Erickson said.

From Washington Post