In the
card game Cribbage, there is no
legal hand that will score
nineteen points.
As a matter of fact, there are also no hands that score 25, 26, or 27 points (all
Cribbage hand scores fall between
zero and
29,
inclusive), but somehow "
19" has come to be singled out for
recognition.
Because there is no 19-point hand, it has become reasonably common in Cribbage parlance to refer to a hand scoring zero as a "nineteen pointer," or some similar usage. This can feel cleansing, if used in a self-deprecating manner, such as "Read 'em and weep: nineteen points!" However, if used by your opponent (in ways such as, "You sure are scoring a lot of nineteen pointers today"), there is a risk that you may feel like punching your opponent in the face.