5 November 2013

wager

[wey-jer]

noun

1. something risked or staked on an uncertain event; bet: to place a wager on a soccer match.
2. the act of betting.
3. the subject or terms of a bet.
4. Early English Law. a pledge to make good one’s cause by the supporting oaths of others or by battle.
verb (used with object)
5. to risk (something) on the outcome of a contest or any uncertain event or matter; bet.
6. History/Historical . to pledge oneself to (battle) for the decision of a cause.

Today’s aphorism

Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.

― W.C. Fields

On this day

5 November 1605 – Guy Fawkes Day. Celebrates King James I survived an attempt on his life when Guy Fawkes and others from the Gunpowder Plot placed gunpowder around the House of Lords in a failed attempt to blow up parliament.

5 November 1996 – Bill Clinton secures a second term as U.S. President, with a land-slide victory. Clinton is the first Democrat in 50 years to win consecutive terms of government.