That xxxx TRUMPS my/your xxxx

[Mark A Mandel]

On Tue, 4 Mar 2003, Sam Clements wrote:

#I must fall asleep from time to time.  And when I awaken, I notice people
#are dressed differently and speak in another language.
#
#WHEN did it become chic to use the term "trump" in daily language?  By that
#I mean such a sentence as I read in my morning Akron Beacon Journal, quoting
#a Johns Hopkins professor:  "It's hard for me to see how that trumps a
#person's right to know."
#
#Over at the Straight Dope Message Board, I've notice a rather intelligent
#lawyer using it quite often, as in "the Supreme's decision trumps the lower
#court's."
#
#Do I just lead a dreadfully sheltered, small-town life?  Or is this a rather
#recent(last few years) usage of the word?

I've known that usage -- unrelated to card games -- since the late
fifties, I think. I don't know if it's getting more popular.

-- Mark A. Mandel