OOTS #1151 - The Discussion Thread

[Ruck]

You can call it a variation on a theme, or a colorful usage. It for sure is not literal usage.
As I explained, "betting the under" indicates "not likely" and "betting the over" indicates "likely" ... in this usage (idiomatic?)
It has bloody fork all to do with gambling in that context.
Other colorful phrases you may be familiar with:
Putting something in the oven, and then "nuking it."
No actual nuclear reactions are in play.
Being so mad at someone than one exclaims "I'm gonna kill 'em."
No actual intent for homicide exists.


FWIW: It is quite possible that this bit of slang is unique to some parts of Texas ... it is certainly where I picked it up.

Yeah, I didn't read closely enough and see that it's more colloquial. It still drives me nuts because from my perspective "I'll take that bet" is perfectly good, and more accurate, in this situation. Also, my wife has been similarly incorrectly using over/under, probably because she heard me using it a lot.

(And, for the record, I was a longtime Texas resident until very recently.)