don pedro

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

A game at cards. It is a compound of All Fours, and the Irish game variously termed All Fives, Five and Ten, Fifteen, Forty-five, &c. It was probably invented by the mixed English and Irish rabble who fought in Portugal in 1832-3.

Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English
Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “don pedro” mean?

A game at cards. It is a compound of All Fours, and the Irish game variously termed All Fives, Five and Ten, Fifteen, Forty-five, &c. It was probably invented by the mixed English and Irish rabble who fought in Portugal in 1832-3.

Is “don pedro” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.