chalk n.— «Chalk: Years ago—before computers, if you can imagine—bets were recorded on a large chalkboard. The favorites would get the most checks and thus the most chalk, making picking the chalk the term for picking the favorite. This...
try-hard n.— «Everyone loves a winner. Ever heard that adage? It should read: everyone loves a trier, but it doesn’t, and being called a try-hard is now a derogatory term.» —“Our addiction feeds cheats” by Richard...
libel tourism n.— «British law requires the loser in a court case to pay the winner’s court costs. This is the real attraction for shady millionaires: the chance to bankrupt their opponents into silence. Because of this, Britain has...
lucky sperm club n. jocularly and as a group, children who inherit from wealthy parents, especially when the children are seen as undeserving. Editorial Note: A related term is sperm lottery, which someone is usually said to be the winner or loser...
karaoke musical n.— «Instead of Paul Simon and Randy Newman, who tried and struck out, kitschmeisters like Elton John and Frank Wildhorn have stepped in. And the much-despised “karaoke” musical has put down commercial roots...
cellar rat n.— «He will be at the winery for six months working as what is known as a cellar rat—someone who does odd jobs around the winery during the vintage.» —“Job winner as happy as a rat in a cellar” by Bernard...