"Bet the Farm"

[JAMES H COPELAND]

To bet the maximum, all in, as in Texas Holdem
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Benjamin Barrett<mailto:gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM> 
  To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU<mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> 
  Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 4:47 PM
  Subject: Re: "Bet the Farm"


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  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU<mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>>
  Poster:       Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM<mailto:gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>>
  Subject:      Re: "Bet the Farm"
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  Probably related is "bet the firm", an expression I understand to mean
  that a law firm agrees to take on a case and not take anything unless
  they win. BB

  > -----Original Message-----
  > From: fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU<mailto:fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
  > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU<mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
  > Sent: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 10:00 AM
  > Subject: "Bet the Farm"
  >
  >
  > In a Supreme Court opinion yesterday, Justice Scalia used the expression
  > "bet the farm." A journalist is asking me about this phrase. Can anyone
  > point me to any good information, or even give a hunch, as to the
  > derivation of this expression?
  >
  > Fred Shapiro
  >

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