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What is the meaning of "My hand has been played"? And is it similar to "I've been played?"

This is the context:

"How did you get my phone number?"

"...She told me your name and that you are a professor at NYU. You are listed as Dr. Martin Rose. There are 3 Martin Rose listings in the telephone directory but none with the title of Dr. There you have. My hand has been played."

  • Lonely Man Full of Love by Mauro Mevlud Martino
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  • What is the source of this? THe sentence "There you have" is incomplete. Should it be "There you have it" Is "none" incorrect? should it be "one with the title of Dr"
    – James K
    Commented Feb 15, 2021 at 7:39
  • From a novel that I'm translating. Yes I agree I felt that it should be 'one' instead of 'none'.
    – Aseel
    Commented Feb 15, 2021 at 7:43
  • Thank you. You have to cite the title of the novel and the author.
    – James K
    Commented Feb 15, 2021 at 7:46

1 Answer 1

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It is a metaphor from card games. A hand of cards are the cards that you hold in your hand and keep hidden from the other players.

If you play your hand, you show the cards. For example in bridge you play one card at a time until all 13 cards in the hand have been played. In poker you hold all the cards until the end of the game when you play the whole hand at once.

The metaphor means "I have shown you my secret", with the sense that "Now I have done all I can, and you know everything that I know, it is your turn to act".

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  • It makes sense, but does that mean "none" is correct? And she did her best to find his phone number?
    – Aseel
    Commented Feb 15, 2021 at 7:54
  • I don't know if none is correct. It's your quote. It's certainly odd. "one" would fit the context better. And "There you have" is an incomplete sentence.
    – James K
    Commented Feb 15, 2021 at 8:14
  • Okay thank you. I'll try to contact the Author.
    – Aseel
    Commented Feb 15, 2021 at 8:16
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    In the novel Martin is the name of First Person Narrator and he asked a woman how did she get his phone number and she said she asked the owner of the cafe that they met there before in which she (the cafe owner) told her that his name is "Martin".
    – Aseel
    Commented Feb 15, 2021 at 8:39
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    It is full of ambiguities. I did contact the Author and he said "It meant to be ambiguous" so the statement is ambitious but your interpretation James about the last sentence is correct. And the use of "none" is correct as it meant to be ambiguous.
    – Aseel
    Commented Feb 15, 2021 at 8:54

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