badger game


noun
  1. an extortion scheme in which a woman places a man in a compromising position and then victimizes him by demanding money when her male accomplice, pretending to be an outraged husband or relative, enters and threatens violence, scandal, etc.

Origin of badger game

1
First recorded in 1895–1900

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use badger game in a sentence

  • But he had preferred to speculate in blackmail and play the badger-game with his wife as an unwitting accomplice.

    We Can't Have Everything | Rupert Hughes
  • But the guy they double-crossed in New York, or worked the badger game on, or something like that, got on their trail.

    Murder at Bridge | Anne Austin
  • A month ago she was again in trouble with the police—caught playing the badger game.

    The Easiest Way | Eugene Walter and Arthur Hornblow

Other Idioms and Phrases with badger game

badger game

An extortion scheme in which a man is lured into a compromising position, usually by a woman, and then is “discovered” and blackmailed by her associate. For example, The prosecutor accused the couple of playing the badger game. The term alludes to the much older sport of badger-baiting, in which a live badger was trapped and put inside a box and dogs were set on it to drag it out. The woman in the scheme is the “badger.” [Late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.