the.com/wildcard
the rule that says rules can bend for exactly one glorious exception.
means a symbol, slot, or entry that can stand in for anything else, breaking the usual pattern on purpose.
from from poker, where a designated card (often the joker) could represent any card the holder needed — the term jumped to computing in the 1970s for symbols like * that match anything, then to sports for teams that sneak into playoffs without winning their division.
poker originfirst meant a literal joker or deuce
unix habitasterisk matches any file instantly
sports twistlets non-champions crash the playoffs
for instance
mlb wild card — started 1994, sent the 1997 marlins to a world series win
nfl wild card round — since 1970, has produced multiple super bowl champions
unix asterisk — matches any string in file searches since the 1970s
uno wild card — lets any player change the color mid-game