lurch
Preserved but no longer current.
A term at the game of cribbage. A is said to LURCH B when the former attains the end, or sixty-first hole, of the board before the latter has pegged his thirty-first hole; or, in more familiar words, before B has turned the corner. A LURCH sometimes, and then only by agreement, counts as a double game or rub.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
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 “lurch” mean?
A term at the game of cribbage. A is said to LURCH B when the former attains the end, or sixty-first hole, of the board before the latter has pegged his thirty-first hole; or, in more familiar words, before B has turned the corner. A LURCH sometimes, and then only by agreement, counts as a double game or rub.
Is “lurch” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.