badger game

noun
1.
an extortion scheme in which a woman places a man in a compromising position and then victimizes him by demanding money when her male accomplice, pretending to be an outraged husband or relative, enters and threatens violence, scandal, etc.
Origin
1895-1900
Slang definitions & phrases for badger game

badger game

noun phrase
  1. A method of extortion in which a woman entices the victim into a sexually compromising situation, whereupon a male accomplice appears and demands payment for keeping the situation quiet (1880+)
  2. A means of blackmail, extortion, or intimidation, esp one based on a sexually compromising situation

[fr earlier badger, a thief who crawled through the detachable wall-panels of a panel house to rob the man bedded with his accomplice]


Idioms and Phrases with badger game

badger game

An extortion scheme in which a man is lured into a compromising position, usually by a woman, and then is “discovered” and blackmailed by her associate. For example, The prosecutor accused the couple of playing the badger game. The term alludes to the much older sport of badger-baiting, in which a live badger was trapped and put inside a box and dogs were set on it to drag it out. The woman in the scheme is the “badger.” [ Late 1800s ]