mulligan

"stew made with whatever's available," 1904, hobo slang, probably from a proper name. The golf sense of "extra stroke after a poor shot" (1949) is sometimes said to be from the name of a Canadian golfer in the 1920s whose friends gave him an extra shot in gratitude for driving them over rough roads to their weekly foursome at St. Lambert Country Club near Montreal. The name is from Gael. Maolagan, O.Ir. Maelecan, a double dim. of mael "bald," hence "the little bald (or shaven) one," probably often a reference to a monk or disciple.