make book
verbEtymology The "be confident" sense is connected to the "gamble" sense: a sure bet is one that you can be nearly certain of.
1
Idiomatic To gamble, either by placing or taking bets.
- In the American League, front-running Cleveland was an odds-on favorite with the men who make book on baseball.1954 August 30, “Into the Stretch”, in Time:
- [Connie:] How is Mrs Miller? [Mr Miller:] She doesn't understand me. [Connie:] I could have made book on that answer.1962, Stanley Shapiro, Nate Monaster, That Touch of Mink:
2
Idiomatic To be very confident; to be sure.
- Near-synonym: bet one's bottom dollar
- "Oh, you can make book that she didn't start no love-making. She ain't the kind to curl up in a man's ear and whisper."1909, Rex Ellingwood Beach, chapter 25, in The Silver Horde:
- Related terms
- bookie, bookmaker, bookmaking, sportsbook, bank on, make bank, make it interesting, to be sure, want to bet