Volume XXV

I. No dice🎲

In the early 1900s, dice games were illegal. So if cops busted in and couldn’t find dice, the players had a get-out-of-jail-free card. Some even swallowed their dice to make sure of it.

No dice, no proof, no crime.

It didn’t take long for the phrase to catch on as slang for no luck.

Nowadays, it’s usually used in far less dramatic situations — like getting your PTO request denied or hearing your engine stall in sub-zero temps.

II. Scot-free💂‍♂️

In medieval England, there wasn’t today’s slick bi-weekly payroll deduction, but rather a “scot,” a local tax used to support the town.

If you were lucky enough to escape without paying it, you left scot-free.

Fast-forward to today, and it’s less tax evasion, more full-blown escape act. OJ walks on a layup murder charge? Scot-free. Little brother trashes the house, big brother gets grounded? Scot-free.

Old phrase. Timeless move.

III. Sandbagging🥷

Sandbagging dates back to 1800s America, when muggers used small sacks of sand to quietly knock people out.

By the early 1900s, poker players co-opted the term for a different kind of ambush: underplaying a strong hand to lure opponents in, then dropping a big bet on the river.

Today, it refers to hiding your strength until it’s too late to counter. You’ll hear it thrown around (“Quit sandbagging!”) in high school tennis or golf, where sneaky coaches bury top players at the 9 or 10 seed to rack up easy wins.

Keep on sending on. Forward to a friend.