prop, prop bet, proposition bet

[Benjamin Zimmer]

A "prop (bet)" or "proposition bet" in football gambling is an "exotic"
bet on some subsidiary action in a game, such as which player will score
first. The gambling usage of "proposition" is quite old, though the phrase
"proposition bet" was apparently first applied to craps and other dice
games.

I'm sure the 1991 cite below for "prop (bet)" below can easily be
antedated by looking in the appropriate sources. (Factiva only has the Las
Vegas Review-Journal back to 1990.)


* (betting) proposition

1868 _Atlanta Constitution_ 20 Sep. 2/1 Sunday morning, as this is, we
dare say his main column will contain some swaggering proposition to bet
on the election.

1868 _Atlanta Constitution_ 31 Oct. 1/5 (heading) Come up, Crooked-Nosed
Watson! Where are You, Bard, with your five-cent backers? A proposition to
bet -- one million the stake.

1880 _Chicago Daily Tribune_ 4 June 7/2 You made a proposition to bet
$1,000 that Blaine would be nominated. Now, ---- you. I'll bet you $1,000
that Blaine won't be nominated, another $1,000 that no anti-Grant man will
be nominated, and another $1,000 that you can't name the man who will be
nominated.

1906 _Oakland Tribune_ 11 Nov. 8/3 "Why those Pittsburg fellows don't know
what it is to quit on a betting proposition. Why, they'll match pennies
for $1000 a toss all day long, and will even bet you you ain't living and
will lend you the money to pay if you lose." It isn't very hard to get a
bet out of the average Pittsburg club man on any proposition that has two
sides.

* proposition bet (side bet in craps or other dice games)

1949 _Nevada State Journal_ 20 Feb. 12/5 In Nevada the crap tables pay the
house about 1.4 per cent of all the money bet, which is a lower "take"
than is made in any of the popular games, and too low for Monte Carlo.
Ceresol says he plans to bar both the two aces and two sixes from the back
line, and to eliminate the "proposition" bets and probably the field.

1951 _New York Times_ 4 Dec. 36/5 It has a 1.42 per cent advantage on
straight bets on dice, somewhat more on side, or "proposition," bets.

* proposition bet (bet on any given proposition)

1965 _Reno Evening Gazette_ 15 Oct. 4/5 Gamblers know all about odds. I
think this is what they call a proposition bet -- this bet I have with New
York Life. They bet I'm going to live forever. I bet I don't.

* proposition bet (exotic bet on a football game, usu. the Super Bowl)

1984 _Washington Post_ 20 Jan. C7/2 Handicappers in Las Vegas who have
trouble picking a winner of the Super Bowl still have plenty of
opportunities for action. That city's bookmakers are offering a potpourri
of "proposition bets" on every phase of the game. Will there be more or
fewer than two fumbles lost in the game? Will there be more or fewer than
three field goals? Which team will lead in time of possession? You can lay
11 to 10 and bet on any of these angles.

* prop, prop bet = proposition bet

1991 _Las Vegas Review-Journal_ 26 Jan. 5d (Factiva) Wagering on the
various, multitude of proposition bets also seems to be down. "This Super
Bowl is bad for props because we don't have marquee players, especially on
the Giants side," Walker said. "What do you do, put Ottis Anderson against
Thurman Thomas? Nobody would want to bet Anderson." That hasn't stopped
most of the sports books from coming up with different prop bets. Caesars
Palace, for instance, has around 50 different prop bets including if there
will be a safety or overtime.


--Ben Zimmer