Shuffle: Cards, Feet, and Playlists
To shuffle is to mix or to move without lifting the feet. Music players borrowed the card sense, and it is harder than it looks.
To shuffle is to mix cards, or to walk dragging the feet. Music players took the card sense, and the mathematics is interesting: seven riffle shuffles are usually needed before a deck of 52 cards is properly random, and true random shuffling of a playlist feels wrong to listeners, so most software deliberately spreads artists apart.
- To mix cards. *Shuffle the deck.*
- To walk without lifting the feet. *He shuffled to the door.*
- To rearrange. *A cabinet reshuffle.*
- Random playback. *Play on shuffle.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | shuffle | Shuffle the papers. |
| Past | shuffled | He shuffled off. |
| Noun | shuffle | A quick shuffle. |
| Noun | reshuffle | A cabinet reshuffle. |
| Related | riffle | A riffle shuffle. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Shuffle and deal seven cards each.Card play.
- He shuffled along the corridor.Walking.
- The prime minister reshuffled the cabinet.Politics.
Card shuffles
- Riffle — two halves interleaved
- Overhand — packets dropped from hand to hand
- Hindu shuffle — packets pulled from the top
- Wash — spreading and mixing on the table
- Seven riffles — the number usually cited for a well-mixed deck
Probably from Low German *schuffeln*, to walk clumsily or to deal dishonestly. The card sense and the walking sense have coexisted in English since the sixteenth century.
How many shuffles randomise a deck?
About seven riffle shuffles for 52 cards, according to a well-known mathematical analysis. Fewer leaves detectable order.
Why does shuffle on a music player not feel random?
Because true randomness produces clusters. Many players deliberately avoid repeating artists so it feels more random than it is.