Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2018 May 25

= May 25 =

Geman speakers
Is the following a reliable source: https://www.lvstprinzip.de ? 92.10.238.53 (talk) 14:21, 25 May 2018 (UTC)
 * This is already being addressed at Reliable sources/Noticeboard. Ian.thomson (talk) 15:00, 25 May 2018 (UTC)

"Runs paper for a bookmaker" - American
What does "runs paper for a bookmaker" mean? I know what a bookmaker is. DuncanHill (talk) 20:41, 25 May 2018 (UTC)
 * From what I recall, the bets would be written on slips of paper. Betters would often hire kids to run those papers to the bookie. Thus "running paper". † dismas †|(talk) 21:37, 25 May 2018 (UTC)
 * Ah, a bookie's runner. That makes sense. DuncanHill (talk) 21:41, 25 May 2018 (UTC)


 * The usual term in the U.S. is (or was) "numbers runner". We have an article numbers game... AnonMoos (talk) 00:36, 26 May 2018 (UTC)


 * What if the subject of the bets is (say) a football game, rather than numbers? —Tamfang (talk) 05:54, 27 May 2018 (UTC)


 * Most variety stores and barbershops ran "numbers" - too hard to work on "odds" or variable "point spreads."  All you need is the NY Daily News and the tote total for Belmont, or the like. Collect (talk) 14:27, 27 May 2018 (UTC)


 * And yet sports bookies seem to exist. Are you saying they don't have runners, because of the complication of variable odds? —Tamfang (talk) 22:37, 27 May 2018 (UTC)


 * I think he's saying that for the majority of the 20th century, the "numbers" was the most popular form of organized illegal gambling found among working-class and lower-class areas of U.S. cities... AnonMoos (talk) 02:47, 28 May 2018 (UTC)