[Ads-l] Antedating of Dice Terms

[Shapiro, Fred]

ace deuce (OED 1891)  1890 Daily Nonpareil (Council Bluffs, Iowa) 7 Nov. 4/2 (Newspapers.com)  If the first shot is either a pair of aces, ace-deuce or pair of sixes, aggregating two, three or twelve the player loses these combinations, being called "craps."

crap out, v. (OED 1891)  1889 Nashville Banner 2 Mar. 4/1 (Newspapers.com)  The bank wins and the player is said to have "crapped out."

crap shoot (OED 1895)  1891 Sunday Omaha World-Herald 14 June 10/1 (Newspapers.com)  Elder Bobson with the others of the vestry had just come from a social crap shoot.

crap shooting (OED 1885)  1879 Cincinnati Daily Star 1 Sept. 5/4 (Newspapers.com)  Rover Wright, John Barnes and Charles Dannett, "crap shooting," or gambling, were fined $13 each.

shoot, v. (dice) (OED, to shoot craps, 1903; to shoot dice, 1909)  1876 Natchez (Miss.) Democrat 20 Feb. 2/2 (Newspapers.com)  Two cases of shooting dice for money, some of the gang arrested the other day, were fined one dollar and costs each.

Fred Shapiro



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