bug
n.— «Rode five winners on a December 1981 afternoon at New York’s Aqueduct as an apprentice, something not even “The Kid,”” Steve Cauthen—famous and fresh off his Triple Crown triumph aboard Affirmed three years earlier—had managed to accomplish as a “bug,”” the term for inexperienced riders because of the insect-like asterisk next to their names on track programs.» —“Nearly 20 years later, jockey rides again” by Clark Spencer Olympian (Olympia, Washington) Sept. 1, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The expression to go chalk has to do with rankings in an athletic tournament and harks back to when seeded teams or players were listed on a chalkboard. To pick chalk means to choose one’s favorite competitor, and you can also speak of a chalk...
The words tough, through, and dough all end in O-U-G-H. So why don’t they rhyme? A lively new book addresses the many quirks of English by explaining the history of words and phrases. And: have you ever been in a situation where a group makes...