Fan Tan (Noun)
Meaning
A Chinese gambling game; a random number of counters are placed under a bowl and you gamble on how many will be left (0, 1, 2, or 3 modulo 4).
Classification
Nouns denoting acts or actions.
Examples
- In ancient China, fan-tan was a popular game of chance played with small objects and a bowl.
- The fan-tan operator carefully placed an undisclosed number of counters under the bowl, and bets were taken.
- Fan-tan has been outlawed in many jurisdictions due to its association with organized crime and corruption.
- The excitement of the fan-tan hall was in the air as players waited for the operator to unveil the remaining counters.
- During the California Gold Rush, fan-tan houses attracted large crowds of miners looking to gamble away their earnings.