Take a punt

Posted by Lotg (OZ) on August 31, 2004

Does anyone know why the word 'punt' is used to mean gamble? I discovered from doing a search, that a punt was once the basic unit of money in Ireland; equal to 100 pence. Is there a connection between that and the use of the word in relation to gambling? Other than that, the only punts I ever knew were the kind that ferried you across the river.

• Answered my own question Lotg (OZ) 31/August/04