bug
n.— «The numbers game (known also as policy, clearing house, the bug, butter and eggs and other names) operates every day except Sunday throughout the year, players wagering anything from a penny upward on a three-digit number (000-999).» —“Lotteries Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” by Ernest E. Blanche Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science May, 1950. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus, why do we say...
While compiling the Oxford English Dictionary, lexicographer James Murray exchanged hundreds of letters a week with authors, advisors, and volunteer researchers. A new collection online lets you eavesdrop on discussions about which words should be...