sweater on the rail
n.— «Hustling doesn’t merely involve the players at the table. There was a rogue’s gallery of “stakehorses” (financial backers), “sweaters on the rail” (side bettors) and “nits” (kibitzers). As the gambling spigot has been turned off, the local poolroom—once a civic institution—has almost vanished.» —“Jump the Shark” by L. Jon Wertheim New York Times Nov. 24, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Cat hair may be something you brush off, but cat hair is also a slang term that means “money.” In the same way, cat beer isn’t alcoholic — some people use cat beer as a joking term for “milk.” And imagine walking on a...
Knitters speak of being stranded on Sleeve Island. As the host of Sal & Al: The Woolslayers explains: Being on Sleeve Island is the feeling you get when you think you’re almost finished with a sweater because you’ve completed the...