Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A small, usually rectangular board, used as a game of chance, that contains many holes each filled with a folded slip of paper that when punched out indicates a designated prize, win, or loss.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
board , having a number ofholes filled with slips of paper, once used as a form oflottery
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a small board full of holes; each hole contains a slip of paper with symbols printed on it; a gambler pays a small sum for the privilege of pushing out a slip in the hope of obtaining one that entitles him to a prize
Etymologies
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Examples
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I felt the open stares become harder now, and I looked intently at the punchboard in front of me.
The Lost Get-Back Boogie James Lee Burke 1986
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Mrs. Anderson sighed, looked at the punchboard with disgust, but at last picked it up.
The Dollmaker Harriette Arnow 1954
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The winner was to get a doll whose picture appeared on the punchboard.
MaryW commented on the word punchboard
Christopher T. Bayley, <i>Seattle Justice: The Rise and Fall of the Police Payoff System in Seattle</i> (Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 2015), ch. 2<blockquote>
WAC 230-14-005
Defining "punch board."
A board with a number of openings of uniform size in which the
manufacturer placed, at random, slips of paper or other substances
(punches) imprinted with numbers or symbols; and
A flare (face sheet) covers the openings and sets out the winning
numbers or symbols and which prizes players may win. The punches have
specific serial numbers assigned and printed on them; and
After buying a punch, a player may select and remove the punch from the
opening of the punch board, and, if the number on the selected punch
matches the flare, the specified prize is awarded to the player.
January 17, 2016