Thepoker noun sense (“aqueen and ajack as astartinghand inTexas hold 'em”) may be from the theme song of the US Western television seriesMaverick (1957–1962), which says of the eponymous protagonist that “[g]amblin’ is his game” and that he is “livin’ on jacks and queens”.[2]
1875, “Investigating Commission of the Northern Frontier”, inReports of the Committee of Investigation Sent in 1873 by the Mexican Government to the Frontier of Texas.[…], New York, N.Y.: Baker & Godwin, printers,[…],→OCLC, section V,pages62–63:
Occasionally some young men who have no cattle of their own will take part in these expeditions, or they will give their services by the year to receive apro rata of all themaverick cattle that may be found. [Quoted fromThe Texas New Yorker, pages 110–111.]
1963, Harry T. Getty,The San Carlos Indian Cattle Industry (Anthropological Papers of the University of Arizona;no. 7), Tucson, Ariz.:University of Arizona Press,→OCLC, page65:
But I would rather havemaverick cattle, they are more accustomed to range conditions. My cattle from the registered herd have not done too well.
2016, Victoria Lamont, “Western Violence and the Limits of Sentimental Power”, inWesterns: A Women’s History, Lincoln, Neb., London:University of Nebraska Press,→ISBN,page40:
Attempts to regulate the distribution ofmaverick cattle throughout the 1880s affected particularly the access of cowboys to mavericks.
John Maynard Keynes, the internationally renowned economist, was impressed byAlan [Turing]'s work, and his unorthodox style.[…] It is quite likely that Keynes viewed Alan and hismaverick attitude to maths research sympathetically.
As resident jester at themaverick journalism outlet The Free Press, Nellie Bowles scours the news for the absurd and hypocritical, and then skewers the best of the worst in her column, TGIF.
1872, W. G. Kingsbury, “Cattle-raising in Western Texas. How It is Conducted—Profits of the Business, &c.”, inA Brief Description of Western Texas,[…], San Antonio, Tx.: Herald Steam Job Printing House and Book Bindery,→OCLC,page36:
In this distribution, care is taken to leave not only those which bear the owner's mark and brand, but his due proportion of themavericks* that have been found upon the expedition. [footnote: *The term "maverick" is applied in this country to all animals that have neither mark nor brand upon them, and originated in this way:[…]]
1884,The National Live-stock Journal, volume 1, Chicago, Ill.: George W. Rust & Co.,→OCLC, page55, column 3:
Under this law 2,035mavericks (orphan calves) were discovered and disposed of by the round-up foremen. Formerly the custom was to brandmavericks with the brand of the owner of that portion of the range where they were found. Under the new law, allmavericks are branded with the association brand, and sold at auction.
Long Bill was a graduate of the camp and trail. Luck and thrift, a cool head, and a telescopic eye formavericks had raised him from cowboy to be a cowman.
As a voter, I'm amaverick, don't belong to any party. I believe that John Doe is the best available man for county commissioner, Richard Roe for sheriff, Joe Hicks for governor—but John is a Democrat, Dick is a Republican, and Joe is—well, something else.
1926, “The Engineers’ Basketball Contest: Civils vs. Electricals”, inThe Idaho Engineer, Boise, Ida.: Idaho Society of Professional Engineers,→OCLC, page70:
The relative merits of the civils and the demerits of the electricals were extolled in the following challenge: “To the A.I.E.E. [American Institute of Electrical Engineers], hereinafter referred to as themavericks of the engineering profession."
2021 February 2, Katharine Murphy,The Guardian[2]:
If representation and recruitment is an objective, self-styledmavericks like Kelly and his Queensland sidekick George Christensen have some utility.
1947, Norman Burns,The Administration of Higher Institutions under Changing Conditions (Institute for Administrative Officers of Higher Institutions; Proceedings), Chicago, Ill.:University of Chicago Press,→OCLC, page75:
We then drift back into our old habits, glorify efficiency, and smile knowingly at themavericks within the faculty who want the administration to take democracy seriously.
Florence Nightingale would have been perceived as amaverick during her early career, because she was prioritizing hygiene when everybody else involved in healthcare was focused on other things, such as surgery and pills.
2013, John T. Kuehn, “The Navy, Treaties, and Innovation”, inAgents of Innovation: The General Board and the Design of the Fleet that Defeated the Japanese Navy, Annapolis, Md.:Naval Institute Press,→ISBN, page 9:
They had been working for and with each other for a very long period and their tolerance for “mavericks” was very high, especially if thesemavericks continued to get promoted.
1887, A. M. Jackson, A. M. Jackson, Jr.,Reports of Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Court of Appeals of Texas, Austin, Tx.: Hutchings Printing House,→OCLC, page514:
The court permitted the State to prove, over defendant's objections, that Thedford met Noon Tucker and Calvery driving the yearling over to Bachelor's for delivery. Thedford inquired of Noon "if that [meaning the yearling] was one he hadmavericked?"
For the capricious and uncertain favor of this the only marriageable young lady in the district, all the susceptible and unattached cowboys (of which class the population almost wholly consisted) strove together eagerly and without ceasing,mavericking right and left everything they could lay their hands on, with a running brand L I L, until, when the tenderfoot she had all along been engaged to came out and married her, she brought him great herds of L I L cattle, with which they gayly set up a ranch beneath the noses of the forlorn celibate community.
^Nicolae Sfetcu (2014)About Online Poker[1],[s.l.]: MultiMedia; Nicolae Sfetcu.
Michael Weisenberg, compiler (1999)The Official Dictionary of Poker, Inglewood, Calif.: Mike Caro University of Poker,→ISBN;Tom Dalzell (2012) “maverick”, inThe Slang of Poker, Mineola, N.Y.:Dover Publications,→ISBN,page155: “maverick / a queen and jack as the first two cards in a hold 'em hand.”
maverick (animal) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia