go for the gloves
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Perhaps from the old custom of ladies betting their gloves, expecting to be paid if they won but not to pay if they lost.
Verb[edit]
go for the gloves (third-person singular simple present goes for the gloves, present participle going for the gloves, simple past went for the gloves, past participle gone for the gloves)
- (gambling) To bet against a racehorse on the chance of its losing, without having the wherewithal to pay if it wins.
References[edit]
- John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary