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Chris -- 2018-04-11
An “opening gambit†is a chess move in which one gives up something early in the game that is of minor worth (a pawn, say) to achieve a strategical advantage. For many English speakers “gambit†has lost its association with chess and simply means a ploy, a maneuver. So an “opening gambit†would be a initial action, perhaps a risky one, that expects some response.
There are a couple of dozen pages on the web that have “opening gamble†in a context that does not include actual gambling and on which the phrase appears to be used in the same sense as the metaphorical extensions of “opening gambit.†Three examples:
Book review on Barnes and Noble: “This paranormal romance grips the audience from the opening gamble until the final confrontation with Ar’s former boss.†(http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Ho … 451220790/)
Blog entry: “For Nietzsche, this is the divine dice throw: the opening gamble that is our world, and we in it,†(http://eriktrips.livejournal.com/977216.html)
Web fiction: “‘An impressive opening gamble,’ he said as he set his cup
down. ‘I assume you have some evidence to back up this hunch
of yours.’†(http://www.omniscribe.com/baitandswitch10.txt)
Last edited by kem (2008-11-07 19:35:11)
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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There’s also “running the gambitâ€â€”a hazardous undertaking.
(Usually doing duty for “running the gamut†in which case it’s typically less hazardous, but occasionally for “running the gantlet/gauntletâ€. Of course, you can also run a/your gambit when you let a hazardous game plan play itself out. 34+12+4+.7k rgh.)
Last edited by DavidTuggy (2008-08-27 17:37:13)
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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“Running the gambit” is in the database. http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/english/174/gambit/ I shoulda mentioned that.
Last edited by kem (2016-06-08 12:18:39)
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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Shoulda checked.
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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kem wrote:
“Running the gambit” is in the database. http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/english/174/gambit/
Yeah, here’s an example I just encountered of a similar construction (from the website of the great Nash the Slash): “This CD, initially released in 1997, finds Nash the Slash covering the gambit of his artistic landscape – free jazz, avant-garde, classical, rock-n-roll…”
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Dixon, “covering the gambit” makes one wonder whether ambit, one of ken lakritz’ favourite words, is within the ambit of gambit and gamut. And limit. “Outside the gambit” is very common. “Very common” these days means more than five hits.
Coins are outside the gambit of the limit. ... Then comes the dreaded referral to Directorate of Enforcement (DoE). Best to stay within its gambit.
Financial advice
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Gamut, ambit, gamble, limit. We might also add “amid” to this big fuzzy spot. Some of the examples of in the amid of are probably catalyzed by “ambit.” This one, for example:
Legal document: “ such solicitation falls in the amid of the definitionâ€
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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Also probably catalyzed by ambit is the following lapidary excerpt from a Supreme Court document.
Court document Apart from these special provisions a dispute which falls within the amber of Art. 131 can only be determined in the forum mentioned therein, namely, the Supreme Court of India
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