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GETTING HOOKED

Another ancient field sport remains highly unlikely to be banned (at least while Britain remains a democracy):

broggle (1653) to fish, especially for eels, by thrusting a sharp stick with bait on it into holes in the river bed

zulu (1898) an artificial fly

fizgig (1565) a kind of dart or harpoon with which seamen strike fish

guddle (1818) to catch trout by groping with the hands under the stones or banks of a stream

angletwitch (c.940) a worm used as bait in fishing

rubby-dubby (game fishing jargon) the minced fish (mackerel, pilchards etc.) used as a bait for larger fish especially sharks

angishore (Newfoundland) a man too lazy to fish

ROYAL FLUSH

One pursuit of folk from country and town alike is known also as ‘the sport of kings’, a moniker that certainly remains appropriate with our current crop of royals:

persuader (Australian slang) the jockey’s whip

poppism (1653) the smacking sound with which riders encourage their horses

call a cab the jockey’s action in waving one arm to hold his balance when he and the horse are taking a fence

drummer a horse that throws about his fore legs irregularly

morning glory a horse ‘ catching pigeons’ (showing great promise on the training gallops) but unable to repeat the form on a racetrack

airedale (US slang 1960s) a worthless racehorse

post the blue (b.1909) to win the Derby

GIFT HORSES

With large sums of money involved, the temptation to tamper with the proper result is as old as racing itself:

ingler (underworld slang 1797) a crooked horse breeder

bishop to disguise the age of a horse by tinkering with its teeth

drop anchor fraudulently to cause a horse to run slowly in a race

hook (New Zealand 1910) to ride a horse with the aim of losing

ODDS ON

Down by the track, there’s little that passes the bookies by:

pencil-fever (c.1872) the laying of odds against a horse certain to lose

springer (UK slang 1922) a horse on which the odds suddenly shorten

skinner (Australian slang 1891) a horse which wins at long odds (a betting coup for bookmakers who do not have to pay out on a heavily backed favourite)

stickout (US slang 1937) a racehorse that seems a certain winner

nap (bookies’ jargon) a racing tipster’s best bet of the day

scaler (New Zealand 1908) a bookmaker who decamps without paying out

They’ve even developed their own method of communication without words, known as tic-tac, where they signal with their arms to communicate complicated changes in the odds to outside bookmakers. To these professionals, there’s slang for any bet you care to make:

macaroni odds of 20/1

carpet odds of 3/1

elef a vier odds of 11/4

bottle odds of 2/1

shoulder odds of 7/4

ear’ole odds of 6/4

up the arm odds of 11/8

wrist odds of 5/4

VERY GOOD GOING

In the US and Australia (amongst other places) they have their own words for particular combinations of winners:

exacta or perfecta a wager in which the first two finishers in a race, in exact order of finish, must be picked

quinella a wager in which first two finishers must be picked, but payoff is made no matter which of the two wins and which runs second

trifecta to pick three horses in a particular race to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd (the payout is determined by the betting pool on the turnover of the particular bet)

superfecta a bet that forecasts in correct order the first four horses in a given race

WORD JOURNEYS

jockeys (16C) horse traders (once called Jocks: men of the people)

allure (15C from Old French) to bait: a device in falconry used by hunters to call back their hawks

relay (15C from Old French) to loose the hounds; a pack of fresh hounds held in reserve to relieve a previous pack

croupier (18C from French) a pillion rider, a rider on the croup of a horse; then someone who stood behind a gambler and gave advice

MADHOUSE

Indoor games and hobbies

Cards and dice … the devil’s books

and the devil’s bones

(1676)

There’s no shortage of enjoyable activities