gambit /ˈɡambɪt 
/ ▸ noun 1 an act or remark that is calculated to gain an advantage, especially at the outset of a situation: his resignation was a tactical gambit.
2 (in chess) an opening move in which a player makes a sacrifice, typically of a pawn, for the sake of a compensating advantage: he tried the dubious Budapest gambit.
– ORIGIN mid 17th century: originally gambett, from Italian gambetto, literally ‘tripping up’, from gamba ‘leg’.
EnglishOxford Dictionary of English
