See Also:

martingale (iou) and Lao She (sh)


martingale (iou)



martingale noun & verb. L16.

A. noun.
A strap or arrangement of straps fastened at one end to the noseband, bit, or reins of a horse and at the Other to its girth, to prevent it from rearing or throwing back its head and to strengthen the action of the bit. L16.
Irish martingale, running martingale, standing martingale, etc.
Nautical. A stay which holds down the jib-boom of a square-rigged ship, running from the boom to the dolphin-striker (also martingale-stay); a dolphin-striker. Also, in a dinghy, a rope running from the boom to the foot of the mast, to prevent the boom from rising when it swings outwards. L18.
A gambling system in which a player who is losing repeatedly doubles the stake in the hope of eventual recoupment. E19.
b. verb.
verb intrans. Gamble according to a martingale. E19.
verb trans. Nautical. Secure with a martingale or guy. L19.

Lao She (sh)




orig. Shu Qingchun or Shu Sheyu

born Feb. 3, 1899, Beijing, China
died Aug. 24?, 1966, Beijing

Chinese writer.

He worked as an educator before going to England in 1924, and he was inspired to write his first novel while reading the works of Charles Dickens to improve his English. He originally championed strong, hard-working individuals but later expressed the futility of the individual's struggle against society, as in Luotuo Xiangzi (1936), the tragic story of a ricksha puller; Rickshaw Boy, an unauthorized translation with a happy ending (1945), became a U.S. best-seller. After the onset of the Sino-Japanese War, he wrote lesser patriotic and propagandistic plays and novels. In 1966 he fell victim to the Cultural Revolution.