[gam-bit] 
| 1. | Chess. an opening in which a player seeks to obtain some advantage by sacrificing a pawn or piece. |
| 2. | any maneuver by which one seeks to gain an advantage. |
| 3. | a remark made to open or redirect a conversation. |
| gam·bit (gām'bĭt) n.
[Ultimately from Spanish gambito, from Italian gambetto, act of tripping someone up in wrestling, from gamba, leg, from Old Italian; see gambol.] Usage Note: Critics familiar with the nature of chess gambits have sometimes maintained that the word should not be used in an extended sense except to refer to maneuvers that involve a tactical sacrifice or loss for some advantage. But gambit is well established in the general sense of "maneuver" and in the related sense of "a remark intended to open a conversation," which usually carries no implication of sacrifice. |