Skin In The Gane

[Douglas G. Wilson]

Safire's 1912 example is unrelated and irrelevant IMHO: it refer's to one's
"skin" (countable) in a conventional way, it seems to me.

I find the current "skin [uncountable] in the game" attributed to Ross
Perot in 1992, apparently in connection with a very small political
contribution ($5/head).

It meant (apparently) "a [small] stake in the game".

One possibility (perhaps too charitable) as to the origin: "If you can't
afford a whole steak [i.e., stake], maybe you can afford a little bit of skin."

-- Doug Wilson


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