Meanings
- uncountableA game of chance popular with soldiers in the late 19th and early 20th century, in which players bet on combinations of three dice. It is equivalent to chuck-a-luck.
Edward Harrison, who was arrested by Detective Potter for playing the crown and anchor game, was sentenced to four days’ imprisonment.
1882 (November 1), “Public Business”, The Herald, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, page 22 more examples
The houseman’s, “Come on my lucky lads, who says another card?” and the Crown and Anchor boardman’s “Back them up, my beauties, where you like and where you fancy.”
1900 (June 26), “Trooper Milverton Ford’s Escape”, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, NSW, Australia, page 3My commission on this was £5, and as my salary was £2 a week I collected more on pay-day than I had ever earned in one week in my life - except at ‘Two-up’ or ‘Crown and Anchor’ at the war.
1933, Frank Clune, Try Anything Once, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 135
Cite this entry
crown and anchor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crown%20and%20anchor
“crown and anchor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crown%20and%20anchor. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crown and anchor,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crown%20and%20anchor.
Source: crown and anchor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.