Definition
A bold front, an instance of standing one's ground.
Origins
Apparently from the use of cards with a rank of 10 in early card games.
In Context
- "Fyrste pycke a quarell and fall oute with hym then, / And soo outface hym with a carde of ten."
- "And the noblemen and gentylmen, which shold be the ponysshers of theft, be the chefe mayntayners of robry; bi this meanys often thei robbe & be not taken; but in case he be taken, eyther he shal haue fauor for his masters sake, or els bragg it owt with a carde of .x […]"
- "A vengeance on your crafty withered hide, / Yet I haue fac'd it with a card of ten […]"
- "Some must be knaves, some varlets, bawds, and ostlers, / As aces, deuces, cards o' ten, to face it / Out i' the game, which all the world is."