"Bet the Farm"

[Baker, John]

        The meaning of the phrase, in both forms, sounds pretty
transparent to me.  It seems to be fairly common from the late 1970s to
date.  I did see one outlier, from a 1913 rape case in the Oklahoma
Supreme Court, describing events of 1906.  The complaining witness
seemed to be unfamiliar with the term, but it sounds to me like the same
"bet the farm" we're talking about:

        <<Q. And he had sexual intercourse with you? A. Yes, sir. Q. Was
that with or without your consent? A. I was scared and nervous, and I
told him to go on out and let me alone, and he said he bet his farm or
give his farm, I don't know which-- Q. That it would not hurt you? A.
That it would not hurt me. . . . Q. Did he say that before you said
anything about it hurting? He said, 'No.' What did you say? A. I don't
remember just word for word. Q. You told it before. A. I seen him
standing there, and I told him to go on out. He said, 'No,' and
commenced hauling at the covers and said it would not hurt me; he would
bet his farm or give his farm. Q. Then what? A. I said, yes, sir, I
thought it would, and he said not. Q. Then what? A. I do not remember.
Q. He said it would not hurt you, you said yes you were afraid it would,
and he said no it would not, that he would bet his farm it would not,
and you said yes it would, is that correct? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did it hurt?
A. Yes, sir.>>


Watson v. Taylor, 35 Okla. 768, 131 P. 922, 927 - 28 (Okla. 1913).


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of bapopik at AOL.COM
Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 5:53 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: "Bet the Farm"

BET THE FARM--252,000 Google hits
BET THE RANCH--44,000 Google hits
...
I gotta look into "bet the ranch." Any help appreciated (I'm now in the
Dominican Republic with still mroe family matters).
...


-----Original Message-----
From: fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Sent: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 10:00 AM
Subject: "Bet the Farm"


In a Supreme Court opinion yesterday, Justice Scalia used the expression
"bet the farm." A journalist is asking me about this phrase. Can anyone
point me to any good information, or even give a hunch, as to the
derivation of this expression?

Fred Shapiro

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Fred R. Shapiro Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and YALE BOOK OF QUOTATIONS
  Access and Lecturer in Legal Research Yale University Press Yale Law
School ISBN 0300107986
e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu http://quotationdictionary.com
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