the.com/betting slip
A receipt for optimism, usually voided within minutes of printing.
means A printed or handwritten record of a bet placed, listing the wager, the odds, and the potential payout, which must be presented to collect any winnings.
from Straightforward compound: 'betting,' from Middle English 'bet' (the origin of the wagering sense itself is murky, possibly tied to 'abet'), plus 'slip' in its sense of a small piece of paper — the same 'slip' found in sales slips and pink slips, from an old use of the word for a strip or scrap cut from something larger. The device is modern, tied to the rise of organized bookmaking and betting shops in the 20th century, but the words themselves just describe exactly what the thing is: a small paper proof of a bet.
- official purpose
- Proof of wager, not proof of genius
- psychology
- Feels like a lottery ticket, taxed like entertainment
- accumulators
- More legs, more hope, exponentially less chance
- afterlife
- Most end crumpled near the bin, not cashed