Solitaire as symbol and synecdoche

“When a man is reduced to such a pass as playing cards by himself, he had better give up— or take to reading.” –Rawdon Crawley,The Card Player’s Manual, 1876

Bignews out ofthe Googleplex today: the internetgiant is offering a free solitaire game through its search engine and its mobile app. “When you search for ‘solitaire’ on Google,” goesthe announcement on the company’s always breathless blog, “the familiar patience game may test yours!”

Pokémon Go, Candy Crush, Angry Birds, Farmville, Min...