locate/find/spot the queen

[angliholic]

YOur mission will be to enter the palace and locate the queen.



Could I replace locate in the above with find and spot? Thanks.

[Anglika]

"find" but not "spot".

[Ravage]

Or if you are running a 3 card Monte table in a dark alley you can use.

"Find the red queen, you know what I mean."
"Pick the black, set you back."

[angliholic]

"find" but not "spot".

Thanks, Anglika.
But I still have a lingering question--why doesn't "spot" fit in the above?

Or if you are running a 3 card Monte table in a dark alley you can use.

"Find the red queen, you know what I mean."
"Pick the black, set you back."

Thanks, Ravage.
But the bolded parts are all Greek to me! Would you shed more light? Thanks.

[Ravage]

Sorry for the confusion. It actually didn't have a lot to do with your original post.

"Running" here is meant as "Hosting"
and "3 card Monte table" refers to a game you can gamble in.

From a standard deck of playing cards you use one "Red queen". Either the queen or hearts or the queen of diamonds. And two black cards. The host mixes the cards up and you have to guess which card is the red queen. If you are not familiar with the type of card deck I am referring to I'm not sure how to explain it better. It's similar the a "shell game" that uses 3 shells and you have to guess which one has a pea under it.

Here is a vid with lousy sound
YouTube - Dai Vernon 3 card monte

[Ravage]

I'm having a hard time coming up with why spot doesn't work. The best I can say is that it's mostly a visual term. If you were to go into the castle and spot the queen it's doesn't imply much more than you're just looking at her. While locate and find would seemingly imply that upon completing this action, another will take place. Like rescue.

[angliholic]

Thanks, Ravage.
NOw I get it.

But there is still one point that is not clear to me. What does this refer to--"Pick the black, set you back?"

[Ravage]

In relation to the 3 card Monte game "Pick the black" means choosing a black card. "Set you back" means you lose your bet. The object of the game is to find the red card.

[angliholic]

In relation to the 3 card Monte game "Pick the black" means choosing a black card. "Set you back" means you lose your bet. The object of the game is to find the red card.

Thanks, Ravage.
Roger the "pick the black" part, but why does "set you back" mean "you lose your bet?" Is there something that I missed?

[Ravage]

My fault entirely. It's a "set back" in relation to the amount of money you have if you lose the bet. It's just word play to rhyme, not really "proper" English.

set·back (sět'bāk')
n.

1. An unanticipated or sudden check in progress; a change from better to worse.

2. an unfortunate happening that hinders or impedes; something that
is thwarting or frustrating [syn: reverse]

3. 挫折

I'll either have to be more careful with the words I use or become better at explaining them.