A gaming den or establishment where card games and games of chance are played, often associated with cheating or dishonest practices.
From 'bully' (in the historical sense of a ruffian or thug) combined with 'rook' (from Old English 'hroc,' the bird, but extended to mean a cheater or swindler, probably because rooks were seen as clever thieves). The compound reflects 17th-century London slang for disreputable gambling houses.
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