roll the bones
Cast dice, especially in the game of craps, as in Let's go to the casino and roll the bones tonight. This slangy term was first recorded in 1897, but the noun bones has referred to dice since the late 1300s (Chaucer used it in The Pardoner's Tale).
QUIZZES
DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!
We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?
Question 1 of 11
Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?
Words nearby roll the bones
roll-on/roll-off, rollout, rollover, roll-over arm, Rolls-Royce, roll the bones, roll top, roll-top desk, roll-up, roll up one's sleeves, rollway
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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