that's what they pay off on

[George Thompson]

A frequent expression of my father's was "that's what they pay off on"
-- meaning "that's the important thing".  I have always supposed that it
came from his interest in betting the horses, but checking the Proquest
files of historical newspapers I'm surprised to find that it occurs
mostly in the context of baseball; also football and prizefighting,
politics and tennis (once each).  I'm also surprised to see it no
earlier than 1933, since I've been supposing that my father's turns of
speech were acquired when he was young, before WWI.  The first three are
below; the next two came from Ed Sullivan's column of Hollywood tattle
(1937 & 1938); then the prizefighting story, then 5 baseball stories,
then a story about Nelson Rockefeller. . . .

However, to our muttons:

[quoting Babe Ruth:]  "My name is Ruth and always has been Ruth and
always will be Ruth, but some chump said it was Erhardt and everybody
believes it now.  Aw, what difference does it make as long as you can
walk up there and get your base knocks?  That's what they pay off on."
Just Names.  (Sports of the Times)  By JOHN KIERAN.  New York Times,
August 2, 1933, p. 20

[a college football team was better] in almost every other department of
the game -- except the final score.  And that's what they pay off on in
this league.
BRUIN END PLAYS FULL; Spaulding Plans to Break Harris in at Ted Key's
Backfield Post.  JACK SINGER. Los Angeles Times, November 4, 1935. p. A9

[quoting Ben Chapman, with reference to batting averages:] "Bucky
[Harris, his manager] knows, too, that that's what they pay off on when
they make out that new contract."
This Morning, WITH SHIRLEY POVICH.  The Washington Post, March 16, 1937,
p. 17

The last citation (of 14) is from 1979, but the next to last was from 1966.

GAT

George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.

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