butter and eggs
n.— «Americans are betting almost a billion dollars a year that they can guess…The Chicago butter and egg prices.…In some cities it is called “numbers,” in others, “policy.”…The “banker” may nominate other combination of digits and take them from the bond sales on the stock exchange, from butter and egg prices, from baseball or football scores.» —“Betting Billion A Year They Are Good Guessers” in New York City Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisc.) Oct. 20, 1932. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
If someone urges you to spill the tea, they probably don’t want you tipping over a hot beverage. Originally, the tea here was the letter T, as in “truth.” To spill the T means to “pass along truthful information.” Plus...
Chances are you recognize the expressions Judgment Day and root of all evil as phrases from the Bible. There are many others, such as the powers that be and bottomless pit, which both first appeared in scripture. • There’s a term for when the...