A four flush (also flush draw) is a poker draw or

non-standard poker hand Non-standard poker hands are hands which are not recognized by official poker rules but are made by house rules. Non-standard hands usually appear in games using wild cards or bugs. Other terms for nonstandard hands are special hands or freak hand ...

that is one card short of being a full

flush Flush may refer to: Places * Flush, Kansas, a community in the United States Architecture, construction and manufacturing * Flush cut, a type of cut made with a French flush-cut saw or diagonal pliers * Flush deck, in naval architecture * F ...

. Four flushing refers to empty boasting or unsuccessful bluffing, and a four flusher is a person who makes empty boasts or bluffs when holding a four flush. Four flusher can also refer to a welcher, piker, or braggart. This

pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...

term originated in the 19th century when bluffing poker players misrepresented that they had a

—a poker hand with five cards all of one

suit A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt su ...

—when they only had four cards of one suit. Optimal strategies for bluffing or folding when holding a four flush have been explored extensively in

poker strategy Poker is a popular card game that combines elements of chance and strategy. There are various styles of poker, all of which share an objective of presenting the least probable or highest-scoring hand. A poker hand is usually a configuration of fi ...

books.

In media

Hale Hamilton The Four Flusher Film Daily 1919

The first

governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

, Charles N. Haskell, denounced

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and political opponent

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, calling him a "four flusher".

Metro Pictures Metro Pictures Corporation was a Film, motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at le ...

released the comedy ''The Four Flusher'' in 1919. Several other films have the term in their titles. In the 1922

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many Silent film, silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influent ...

silent film '' Dr. Jack'', the phrase "a four flusher" is used to describe the doctor in charge of "The Sick-Little-Well-Girl" in the city. ''The Four Flusher'' is the name of an American comedy written in 1925. In the 1926 silent film '' The Show-Off'', Clara (

Louise Brooks Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an cultural icon, icon of the flapper culture, in part due to the bob cut, bob hairstyle that she helped ...

) calls Aubrey Piper ( Ford Sterling) a four flusher, meaning a braggart or a person who makes false or pretentious claims. In the film, his "four flushing" has resulted in the loss of money needed to pay for the mortgage on the Fisher family home. In the 1933 Marx Brothers movie '' Duck Soup'', Rufus T. Firefly (

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer who performed in films and vaudeville on television, radio, and the stage. He is considered one of America's greatest comed ...

) calls Ambassador Trentino a "four-flushing swine". In the 1941 movie '' Hellzapoppin''', Pepi (

Mischa Auer Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky, ; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russian-American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in film in 1928. Auer had a long career playing in many of the era's ...

) is called a four flusher. In the 1945 film ''

Detour __NOTOC__ A detour or (British English: diversion) is a (normally temporary) route taking traffic around an area of prohibited or reduced access, such as a construction site. Standard operating procedure for many roads departments is to route an ...

'', Tom Neal's character calls another character, Charlie Haskell Jr. (echoing the name of the Oklahoma governor), a four flusher. In the 1948 film ''

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada. United St ...

'',

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...

's character is called a four flusher. After dismissing

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

as Supreme Commander of Allied Powers in 1951, President

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

told Merle Miller that General

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under pres ...

had called MacArthur a "four flusher and no two ways about it". A 1954

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar. a pun on "four flusher". In the 1967 Disney film ''The Jungle Book'', Bagheera calls Baloo a "four flusher" when he sees that Baloo is still alive after believing that he was dead.

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greate ...

' song "Double Dealin' Four Flusher" is on their 1975 album ''

Stampede A stampede () is a situation in which a group of large animals suddenly start running in the same direction, especially because they are excited or frightened. Although the term is most often applied to animals, there are cases of humans stamped ...

''. The phrase was used frequently by screenwriter

John Hughes John Hughes may refer to: Arts and Entertainment Literature *John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet *John Hughes (1790–1857), English author *John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet *John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...

as something of a trademark. In '' National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'', Clark refers to his boss as "four flushing" in his tirade over his corporate Christmas present. In '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'', it is used by the mafia boss Johnny in the fictional film ''Angels with Even Filthier Souls''. In '' Uncle Buck'', a quite drunk Pooter the Clown calls Buck a four flusher when ordered to leave the family home, which results in Buck punching the clown in the face. In 2014, a screenplay called''FourFlush'' was written by Harley Evseichik.

References

External links

*{{Wiktionary-inline, four-flusher Poker terminology

In media

See also

References

External links