on the bug

Sat Jul 9 19:10:12 UTC 2005

On Sat, 9 Jul 2005 12:46:05 -0400, Douglas G. Wilson <douglas at NB.NET> wrote:

>I believe this refers to a lottery or "numbers game".
>
>http://www.lawskills.com/case/ga/id/68027/

That certainly fits Carson McCullers' Georgia background. Here's another
relevant cite:

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Chicago Tribune, Oct 25, 1936, p. E10
'We Bet 5 Billion'
How Lotteries Claim an Army of Suckers
Numbers Racket Preys on the Small Fry

Atlanta arrests an average of a hundred "bug" agents a month, with chain
gang sentences the rule for second offenders, but most of the folks in the
town, white and black, still play.
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--Ben Zimmer