Judge, 1923-02-03 · page 5 of 36
Judge — February 3, 1923 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of "Amateur Bridge Is Falling Down" This illustration by Gilbert Wilkinson depicts a humorous scene at a bridge game (the card game, not the structure). The cartoon satirizes amateur bridge players' incompetence and social awkwardness. The illustration shows three men at a table, with dialogue about someone killing himself with whisky. The accompanying story describes disastrous bridge gameplay—poor strategy, excessive drinking, and bad sportsmanship among casual players. The narrative mocks how amateur players blame luck, make excuses, and become argumentative rather than admitting their lack of skill. The satire targets the pretensions of amateur bridge enthusiasts who took the recently-popularized card game seriously without actually understanding it, while indulging in drinking and quarreling—common critiques of leisure-class social activities in early 20th-century satirical magazines.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Drawn by GILWERT WILKINSON. “They say he killed himself with whisky!” “Aye, there’s always folk as say things like that after Amateur Bridge Is Falling Down by Corey Ford F you trip over the wickets i croquet at a week-end, or make an ass of yourself pulling taffy, no one will think much more about it than that you're not so good at croquet or that you could be better at taffy. But if) you happen to be a dub at bridge, and let it as well climb down from the bathroc window on the cord of your dressing-gown and sneak home iefore the break of day; from that mo- ment on, to the rest of the party, you're uot quite bright. You don’t bel Gone are the days when bridge was game, and you could play at it a little. like solitaire. Now the professional ele. ment has crept in; now it’s a grim, life- and-death matter. The care-free guests who buck the bucolies at Swivel Manor may be ¢ horseback, but they dig F into the bridge table and snarl and scratch at the ev rubber. Did you just double your partner's bid of four spades, out, you and with a hand like that?—you couldn't inake more of a monkey of yourself if you climbed up the chandelier and made faces, good at [22 them [really wasn't Suspension Bridge, I hadn't played for ever so long; they thought 1 w mighty decent chap for saying so, mode: and Mr. Swivel laughed and said he guessed probably I maybe was the best player of the lot, and maybe would lick the stuffings out of them all, no doubt. I told him, really, [ meant what I said, and Miss Oat, my partner, giggled that I was foo funny. So I made a fourth. ‘To be even funnier I bid two clubs, and the joke was I didn’t have any clubs. And that reminded me of a good story. It seems from what Tha thered afterwards, from friends who Iked it over with Miss Oat and Mr. Swivel, that I shouldn't have bid those clubs, » that IT shouldn’t have told ry; in fact, shouldn't have urthermore, that when Mr. Swivel laid down his hand after about the second play and announced that the rest of the books were his, I should never in 3 it’s happened!” the wide world have insisted that he was cheating me and made him play it out to convince me he was right. I know, it seemed to me even at the time that things were different after the IT don’t say colder, mind, but different. [sensed a change in Miss Oat’s attitude when she threw her cards time, and I strongly suspected that Mr. Swivel thought less of me when he chased and the room with the leg of the de. But when Mrs. Swivel and the of the guests un to hoot, I realized something had become — the matter, and I went right home. me bridge ta and more con- ridge is a dangerous matter for the mere layman. The pro- fessional can go in and pour Hoyle on what troubled waters may arise; but for the amateur there should be some sort of public warning out about it, like sharks. There is no speedier way to be dropped from the Social Directory than to trump rther’s ac y hand, don’t; say can’t. more I am becoming vineed that) |