How many is a 'priel' ?

[Danny McG]

How many in a priel?

Extract from Stephen Baxter's Massacre of Mankind -

"There was quite a guest list for dinner, I learned as we sat down: a mayor or two, a priel of town councillors, a senior bobby with his jacket unbuttoned"

Thanks,
Danny

 

[mosaix]

If I remember correctly, in cards a priel is three of a kind.

 

[Danny McG]

Doh! You're right.
I got thrown cos it's the first time I've ever saw it written down.
I've said it myself playing cards but imagined it was some weird slang term.
Feel a bit silly now actually

 

[The Judge]

It's not a word I've ever encountered, but I was intrigued so looked it up, as I love finding out about new words.

According to Collins Online and my paper ODE, the spelling is actually "prial" or "parial" and it's an early C19th corruption of "pair royal" and both sources refer only to being three of a kind in card games, but per freedictionary.org:

Pair royal (pl. Pairs Royal) three things of a sort; --
used especially of playing cards in some games, as
cribbage; as three kings, three "eight spots" etc. Four of
a kind are called a double pair royal. "Something in his
face gave me as much pleasure as a pair royal of naturals
in my own hand." --Goldsmith. "That great pair royal of
adamantine sisters [the Fates]." --Quarles. [Written
corruptly parial and prial.]
[1913 Webster]

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Interesting -- I've never heard of it before, and I've spent quite a few years as a card dealer. But not cribbage. And since it's a royal thing, maybe it's only for monarchies.

 

[Danny McG]

Ah! Looks like Mr Baxter got the spelling wrong. Adding to the confusion

 

[mosaix]

Interesting -- I've never heard of it before, and I've spent quite a few years as a card dealer. But not cribbage. And since it's a royal thing, maybe it's only for monarchies.

I remember it being used in the game of brag.

 

[tinkerdan]

Prile seems to work, maybe the letters got shuffled.
of course they could have shuffled to Peril.
And as it is I could see three town councilors viewed as a peril.

 

[SilentRoamer]

I agree with @tinkerdan I would spell it Prile.

A Prile is three of any given card, it is used in a lot of games but some notable examples: Poker (Omaha and Texas) and 13 Card Bragg sometimes called Crash. In 13 Card Bragg a Prile is the best possible hand, with 3's being the king.

 

[Danny McG]

Once and once only in my life I had a prile of 3's in three card brag. Mid seventies and I netted about four pounds!
I initially posted this question and didn't even make the connection with cards.
I thought I was reading some long obsolete twenties slang