Known as an obscure card game borne in U.S. Midwestern mining towns, Euchre was originally developed in the parlors of local brothels while patrons waited their turn for service.
Often involving both customers and working girls from the same brothel, the 4-handed game passed the time quickly and was made all the more enjoyable by the suggestive terminology attached to it. Much of that same nomenclature survives to this day in the 21st century version of Euchre.
Similar to "Hearts" or other 4 handed, partner oriented card games, Euchre uses a unique set of descriptions for different actions during play. Though "Taking Tricks" is thought to mean the collection of a winning set of 4 cards played, it carried a completely different meaning in the late 1800's.
In today's terms when a player declares that he/she is going to "Go it Alone", it is meant to indicate the chance of taking 5 tricks to win the hand, but in 1887 for example, it meant the prospective customer would be led to a small closet to finish their intended business on their own. Should the lady "Go it Alone" and win, she could receive the benefit of a self-inflicted good time, without the burden of a smelly miner alongside her. Euchre was indeed a high stakes game.
When someone today asks another player to "Just lay the Bower down", they are referring to the surrendering of the highest card in the hand in order to speed up play. It had a similar meaning in the 1800's where the colloquial phrase meant to "lay the cash down" so that the customer and the young lady could get down to business.
Perhaps the best example of the difference in the translation of terminology between then and now, comes with the phrase "Screw the Dealer". In today's game, it is not intended to improve the morale of the person dealing the cards, but in the 1800's, it was most definitely a good thing.
