Word of the Day - Tontine

[debodun]

Tontine (noun) - a joint financial arrangement whereby the participants usually contribute equally to a prize that is awarded entirely to the participant who survives all the others.

The class alumni decided to have a tontine. Each attending member chipped in $5 at every reunion.

 

[ohioboy]

The Wild Wild West had an episode titled:

"The Night of the tottering Tontine".

 

[debodun]

In the "M*A*S*H" episide "Old Soldiers", Colonel Potter explains it since he was involved in one with his WW1 buddies.

 

[CinnamonSugar]

"Tontine" always sounds like a Regency word to me, like it would fit in a Jane Austen novel