"Policy" (aka "The Numbers")

[Paul Ivsin]

Webster's 1828 Dictionary's entry for Policy (6) has
...   ...
Wagering policies, which insure sums of money, interest or no interest, are
illegal.
...   ...
So the usage was known to at least one American lexicographer at the time.
("Interest" here refers to insurable interest, not interest on capital.)

Note also that "insurance" still exists in the gambling world today, at
least at the blackjack table.  One has the option to buy insurance when the
dealer's upcard is an ace.

Paul
(Who has spent enough time around both that he has "casino" and "actuary" as
homophones.)

...
Paul Ivsin
paul at ivsin.com
...
----- Original Message -----
From: George Thompson
Sent: Monday, October 01, 2001 5:24 PM
Subject: "Policy" (aka "The Numbers")


[...]
Both the 1818 and the 1819 references refer to this form of gambling
as "insurance".  I don't see this meaning of the word in the OED or
HDAS.