Playing the fool
Posted by Victoria S Dennis on June 19, 2010 at 23:19
In Reply to: Playing the fool posted by TB on June 19, 2010 at 09:09:
: In watching the TV show The Tudors I came across a surprising moment. Henry criticized his motley for a poor play at cards. The error was having "played the Fool" as in The Fool card of the Tarot deck. What game were they playing? and...
: Did the Play the Fool phrase originate with card play?
: Anybody?
The original use of the tarot pack was for games-playing, not divination, and the game of tarot/tarock/tarocco is still played in many countries of Central Europe. Click on this link for a description of the game:
en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Tarot,_tarock_and_tarocchi_games.
There is no connection with the phrase, however. To "play the fool" means "to act the fool" - "player" in the 16th century being a synonym for "actor". (VSD)
- Playing the fool ESC 20/June/10