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
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...
John in Omaha, Nebraska, wonders about a phrase that encourages someone to attend an event or risk being left out or feeling uncool: be there or be square. Don’t fall for the fake etymology about people wearing boxes on their heads! Ditto for...