come up trumps
/ˌkʌm ʌp ˈtrʌmps/INFORMAL · C1
Meaning
to succeed or help when people did not expect it
Examples
- 1Our quiet neighbour came up trumps and fixed the boiler on Christmas Day.
- 2I didn't expect much from the cheap hotel, but it came up trumps.
- 3Everyone expected Leo to forget the cake, but he came up trumps with a perfect three-layer one.
- 4If the bank comes up trumps with a loan, we can finally open the shop.
- 5We needed one more volunteer for the fair, and Gran came up trumps by running the cake stall all day.
Grammar
come is irregular: came, come. trumps is always plural. turn up trumps means the same.
More idioms about success
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →go belly upto fail, especially as a businesslearn the hard wayto find something out through your own mistakesget off the groundto start successfullybear fruitto produce good results after a lot of efforta feather in your capan achievement you can be proud ofrest on your laurelsto stop trying because of past success
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
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