[Ads-l] Antedating of "Strip Poker"

Wed Oct 9 19:29:34 UTC 2019

Gambling for one’s clothes can be dangerous, even when one isn’t among the gamblers... 

In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation and she gave me a lethal dose
I offered up my innocence I got repaid with scorn
Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the storm

—Dylan, “Shelter from the storm”, _Blood on the Tracks_

> On Oct 9, 2019, at 3:11 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Excellent work, Peter.
> I looked for instances that mentioned gambling for clothes, and found
> the topic was too large to explore substantially in the limited amount
> of time I allotted. So here are some miscellaneous citations.
> 
> A newspaper in 1924 reported that an archaeologist believed wagering
> clothes was an ancient behavior. I do not know whether modern
> archaeologists endorse this claim.
> 
> Date: August 23, 1924
> Newspaper: Moline Daily Dispatch (The Dispatch)
> Newspaper Location: Moline, Illinois
> Section: Editorial Page
> Article: (Filler item)
> Quote Page 20, Column 1
> Database: Newspapers.com
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> Nothing is new, not even "strip poker." An archeologist finds that the
> ancient Mayans in Yucatan used to wager their clothes on a handball
> game.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> In 1811 "The Scots Magazine" published a book review that discussed
> "Buenos Ayres". Gamblers would sometimes wager their shirts.
> 
> Date: November 1811
> Periodical: The Scots Magazine and Edinburgh literary Miscellany
> Article: The Present State of Buenos Ayres, &c.
> Start Page 812, Quote Page 818
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> They stake, in an instant, all that they possess, always with perfect
> coolness. When they have lost all their money, they stake their shirt,
> provided it is of any value, and in that case the gainer gives his to
> the loser, because no one has two.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> The Oxford English Dictionary has citations for many phrases
> containing the word "shirt" including "to bet one's shirt". The first
> pertinent citation is dated 1892.
> 
> [Excerpt form OED]
> shirt, n. 2. Phrases.
> f. slang. to bet one's shirt, to put one's shirt on (a horse) = to bet
> all one's money on. to get (a person's) shirt out, to cause him to
> lose his temper. to keep one's shirt on: to remain calm (orig. U.S.).
> to lose one's shirt: to lose all one's possessions.
> 
> 1854   Spirit of Times (N.Y.) 4 Nov. 447/3   I say, you durned ash
> cats, just keep yer shirts on, will ye?
> 1859   J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang 91   When one person makes another in
> an ill humour he is said to have ‘got his shirt out’.
> 1892   Pall Mall Gaz. 30 Mar. 6/2   Bet thee my shirt Aunty Jane wins.
> [End excerpt from OED]
> 
> In 1855 the London periodical "The Critic" published a review of the
> book "The Chinese Empire" by M. Huc. Gambling for clothes was
> described.
> 
> Date: March 15, 1855
> Periodical: The Critic, London Literary Journal
> Periodical Location: London, England
> Article: Voyages and Travels (Book Review of "The Chinese Empire" by
> M. Huc, 1855)
> Start Page 135, Quote Page 136
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> Of thorough gamblers M. Huc observes:--
> They cast aside every obligation of station, duty, and family, to live
> only for cards and dice; and this fatal passion gains such an empire
> over them, that they proceed even to the most revolting extremities.
> When they have lost all their money, they will play for their houses,
> their land, and their wives even, whose destiny often depends on a
> cast of the dice. Nay, the Chinese gambler does not stop here, for he
> will stake the very clothes he has on for one game more; and this
> horrible custom gives rise to scenes that would not be credible, did
> we not know that the passions always tend to render men cruel and
> inhuman.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> 
> Date: February 27, 1883
> Newspaper: The Daily Post (Pittsburgh Daily Post)
> Newspaper Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
> Article: Colonel Blank: How He Won an Exciting Horserace at Los Angeles
> Quote Page 3, Column 4
> Database: Newspapers.com
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> When their money ran out the Spaniards bet their horses and saddles
> and bridles, and some of them went so far as to wager their fine
> clothes on the result.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> An 1884 article described betting on a fish fight in Siam.
> 
> Date: December 28, 1884
> Newspaper: The Times
> Newspaper Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
> Article: A Novel Prize Fight
> Quote Page 7, Column 3
> Database: Newspapers.com
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> The natives become so excited that they wager their clothes, wives,
> and, in fact, themselves on the result.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> 
> Date: January 1, 1885
> Title: The Morphine Habit  (Morphinomania)
> Author: Professor B Ball M.D.
> Translated from French for the Humboldt Library
> https://books.google.com/books?id=la52Jz5G4d0C&q=%22their+clothes%22#v=snippet&
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> Another example: The Chinese add to the passion for opium the passion
> for play; so that when they have lost all their money they wager their
> clothes, their wives, their children; and when they are completely
> ruined they wager their fingers . . .
> [End excerpt]
> 
> 
> Date: November 15, 1903
> Newspaper: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
> Newspaper Location: St. Louis, Missouri
> Section: Sunday Magazine
> Article: How Billy Hall Foiled the Game of the Sports Who Planned Bis Downfall
> Quote Page 8, Column 5
> Database: Newspapers.com
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> Billy hadn't an idea that everything wasn't straight until a Kahoka
> man offered to wager the clothes he was wearing against $25.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> Garson
> 
> On Mon, Oct 7, 2019 at 3:17 AM Peter Reitan <pjreitan at hotmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> The Yale poker games were widely reported, from as early as April 5, 1904.  The New York Sun of that date (page 12) called it "pajama poker." They reported that they would play until one player had only socks left.  He would get a pair of pajamas to wear home, and would go back for his clothes the next day.
>> ____
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org