hold-out n.
1. an act of evasion; something that has been held back, e.g. money; thus an individual who ‘holds out’, e.g. refusing to leave a gentrifyiing neiighbourhood.
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Boss 300: That check-cashing racket was a case of flam; there was a hold-out that went with that play. | |
| ‘The Scorched Face’ Story Omnibus (1966) 68: With women who lose things that way [...] it’s always a question whether it’s a hold-up or a hold-out. | |
| Amer. Tramp and Und. Sl. 101: Hold Out.–Money retained from a division of spoils, or to assure one of attaining a desired end, and somewhat like a fund of ‘fall money’ in many cases. | |
| Honest Rainmaker (1991) 107: Maxim & Gay [...] retained five per cent of the winnings. It was a sure method of preventing holdouts. | |
| On the Yard (2002) 279: A single holdout seemed to cast a shadow of doubt far out of proportion to his substance. | |
| Dealer 86: ‘I can’t press too hard because Slick owes him some money. That’s this cat’s holdout, cause the cat feels that if he pays me, Slick won’t pay him’. | |
| Shakedown 3: I don’t know how the holdouts do it [...] Must be some axes to bear. | |
| ‘Having Chiqui’ in ThugLit July-Aug. [ebook] She was one of the last of the Polish holdouts in Elizabeth. |
2. attrib. use of sense 1.
| Tales of the Ex-Tanks 185: I was just about to dig up my hold-out pile and begin play myself. |
3. (US und.) a contrivance used by cheating gamblers to hold a card until needed.
 | Right Way to Do Wrong 81: The hold out, as it is called, is a mechanical contrivance used for holding a card fraudulently withdrawn from the pack until it is wanted. The hold out [...] purchased from a notorious gambler who has now retired, and perfected it for use in certain card tricks. |
In compounds
a gambler or cheat who will never admit how much money they have made out of a game; but note cit. 2000.
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Mirror of Life 14/4: [Professional gamblers] try to hide their winnings as much as possible, so as to avoid suspicion, and very often they will claim to be losers, when, in reality, they have won many dollars.Some are known as ‘paper man,’ [sic] other as ‘hold-outs,’ while more are called ‘second dealers’ . | |
| Gambling Forum Archive Apr. Digest 🌐 I do like the idea that someone can ask for a change at any given time (within reason), rather than having the deck automatically change at a pre-determined time. This at least makes me feel like I have some protection against a ‘hold-out artist’. If the cheater knows in advance when the deck changes, he can be sure to return all of his cards to the muck before the next change. But if the deck changes without notice after a hand has been completed, then a ‘hold-out artist’ may be stuck without returning the missing card(s). | |
| Tattoo of a Naked Lady 21: Everyone could see what happens to hold-out artists. |
In phrases
a cheat who keeps cards up their sleeve.
| Venetian Blonde (2006) 154: I have played against sleeve holdouts and readers and daub and shiners. |