An American gambling term for accepting bets privately or off the books — specifically, taking wagers outside of a licensed bookmaking operation, often illegally. A "handbook" was a small betting operation run by hand, without official registration. Handbooking was especially common during the horse-racing era when street-corner bookies would scribble bets in notebooks. The word has a historical, slightly underground flavour that ties it firmly to American gambling culture of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
He got arrested for handbooking at the racetrack — taking bets without a license for years.
No comments yet — say something.
(US, gambling) betting.
No comments yet — say something.
Add your own interpretation of "handbooking".
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.