playing booty
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A trick of dishonest jockeys — appearing to use every effort to come in first, but really determined to lose the race.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “playing booty” mean?
A trick of dishonest jockeys — appearing to use every effort to come in first, but really determined to lose the race.
Is “playing booty” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.