go the whole pile

English

Etymology

In allusion to the piles of gold dust used as currency by gambling miners in America.

Verb

go the whole pile (third-person singular simple present goes the whole pile, present participle going the whole pile, simple past went the whole pile, past participle gone the whole pile)

1. (slang, dated) To stake all of one's money on a single outcome.
   • 1848, The Southern Literary Messenger, volume 14, page 446:

     "I go the whole pile on the Jack," said Colonel Bull, drawing the chips from other cards upon which they had been distributed.

   • 1884, W. Jarman, U.S.A., Uncle Sam's Abscess, page 27:

     You may bet your bottom dollar on it; go the whole pile and go in and win; you hear me!

References

• John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary