▪ I. parlay, n. U.S.
(ˈpɑːleɪ)
Also parley.
[Corruption of paroli n.]
1. Faro. = paroli.
| 1904 American Corresp., In horse-racing the parley must be for the whole ‘card’ of races. In faro, and in rouge-et-noir, one lays a bet and, winning, leaves it on the table once more only. |
2. Betting. A cumulative series of bets in which winnings accruing from one transaction are transferred to the next. Also attrib.
| 1904 [see sense 1 above]. 1927 National Turf Digest (U.S.) Jan. 19/1 From the standpoint of the bookmaker..no money coming from a winning horse can be ‘iffed’ to a parlay on that same horse and another. 1928 Ibid. Feb. 91/1 A parlay player cannot protect himself against a changed track condition, a change of jockeys, or added starters. 1932 D. Runyon in Collier's 26 Mar. 40/2 He has a dispute with Sorrowful about a parlay on the races the day before. 1946 Sun (Baltimore) 2 Apr. 26/4 A $2 parlay would have paid $10,906.70. 1957 New Yorker 2 Nov. 105/1 Colonel Martingale..has figured out that a parlay on the same horses would have paid $4,045.58. 1963 T. Pynchon V. vii. 158 Both, together, were like a parlay of horses, capable of a whole arrived at by some operation more alien than simple addition of parts. 1976 New Yorker 23 Feb. 85/2 Well, all the players who made parlays on the Proud horses—Birdie and Delta—clicked. |
▪ II. parlay, v. U.S.
(ˈpɑːleɪ)
Also parley, parlee.
[Corruption of paroli v.]
1. In faro and horse-racing, To apply the money staked, together with the money won on a bet, in continuing to bet on the same card, or as a further stake on another horse or combination of horses. trans. and intr.
| 1890 J. P. Quinn Fools of Fortune ii. ii. 194 Almost all [faro] bankers will allow a player to ‘parlee’ as the percentage is largely in favor of the bank. 1895 How to Make Money on Small Cap. 63 Were he, however, to what is termed ‘parley’ his money—that is to say, if..he put his $5 on his choice on the first race, and, if the horse should win, put all the winnings and his original $5 on the next race, and so on. Ibid. Gloss. 126. 1895 Funk's Stand. Dict. s.v., To parlay one's bet. 1903 Ade People you Know 110 He wanted to parlee a $2 Silver Certificate and bring home enough to pay the National Debt. |
2. trans. To increase (capital) by means of gambling; more generally, to exploit (a circumstance) for gain, to transform (an asset, advantage, etc.) into something considerably greater or more valuable. Also absol. colloq.
| 1942 San Francisco Examiner 5 May 18/5 As far as the girl who was kicked off the '36 Olympic team and parlayed it into a million dollars or so, is concerned, water these days is strictly for drinking and bathing. 1947 Life 20 Jan. 89/2 Only 25 years ago trucking firms consisted of a few men with strong backs and iron nerves who parlayed their savings into creaky trucks and did their bookkeeping on backs of envelopes. 1949 Sat. Even. Post. 25 June 32 H. J. Heinz..parlayed a pickle into one of the most valuable family heirlooms in America. 1952 Sun (Baltimore) 8 Oct. 11/2 She would like to parlay an original ‘People's Union’ fund of $100 into lots more and start in motion her mailing plan for errant politicians. 1956 B. Holiday Lady sings Blues (1973) vi. 57, I hoped he could shoot enough dice to parlay it into a bill big enough I didn't have to feel ashamed to send home. 1964 ‘E. McBain’ Axe v. 78 Cards... Dice. Anything where he can parlay a small stake into some quick cash. 1972 Publishers' Weekly 17 Jan. 56/3 His family had parlayed the sum awarded him by the court into millions. 1973 Times Lit. Suppl. 28 Sept. 1131/3 Parlaying his genuine physical tragedy, by unspoken comparison, into a certificate of literary genius. 1975 High Times Dec. 106/2 (Advt.), I have parlayed $146 into $90,000. 1976 Wood Sci. VIII. 180 These findings may be parlayed into savings in sample size in future experiments on the strength of lumber. 1977 New Society 5 May 236/3 Former pupils who had parlayed a third-class degree into {pstlg}7,000 a year and ten minutes' teaching a week. 1977 Time 27 June 15/1 Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 31, the Wunderkind of low-budget West German cinema,..is about to parlay his critical acclaim into box office success as an international director. |