turn up trumps

English

Alternative forms

• come up trumps

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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Verb

turn up trumps (third-person singular simple present turns up trumps, present participle turning up trumps, simple past and past participle turned up trumps)

1. (idiomatic) To end up being successful when doing so was uncertain or unlikely.

   Antonyms: come to nothing, come to nought, (slang, vulgar) die in the ass, (slang, vulgar) go to shit

   • 1915, Ford Madox Hueffer [i.e., Ford Madox Ford], chapter V, in The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion, London: John Lane, The Bodley Head; New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, →OCLC; republished Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, 1972 (1982 printing), →ISBN, part I, page 62:

     So nearly all her investment turned up trumps, and Edward was really in fit case to reopen Branshaw Manor and once more to assume his position in the county.

See also

• come up roses