pea shake
n.— «When multiple claims are made for one horse, the winner is decided by lot, with the clerk of scales and the track’s claiming agent as witnesses. The drawing procedure is called shaking the peas. When a horseman attempts to arrange a protected claim by have accomplices place claims, he is stacking the odds in his favor if multiple claims are made and the decision on horse ownership is made by the pea shake.» —“Four Are Suspended For ‘Protected Claim’” by Don Lee Omaha World-Herald (Nebraska) Aug. 24, 1983. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Astronauts returning from space say they experience what’s called the overview effect, a new understanding of the fragility of our planet and our need to reflect on what humans all share as a species. A book about the end of the universe...
Chris in Omaha, Nebraska, asks about the use of the adjective husky to describe the boys’ clothing section in a department store. This coded term refers to clothes made for heavier fellows. Husky was originally a positive term connoting the...