rooting interest (1905)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

* rooting interest (OED2 1971!) -- earliest cites are in horseracing contexts:

1905 _Washington Post_ 25 Mar. 8/1 Toscan [sc. a racehorse] was
entered in the name of E. A. Whitney, and the "contingent clause" gave
Pumphrey something more than a "rooting" interest.

1905 _Washington Post_ 8 July 9/1 He had the Beldame bug, and was
going to slide a couple hundred after that one just to give himself a
rooting interest when the buzzer announced that they were away for the
big run.


--Ben Zimmer

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