What Does it Mean to Hedge Your Bets?

The term "hedge your bets" sounds like a gambling term, and is used by gamblers. However, business people also use the term, as do others. The phrase can be heard any time a risk is involved in a situation.

History

• The phrase has its origins in the first meaning of the verb, to hedge. In early English, this literally meant to plant a hedge of bushes, often hawthorn, around a field as a protection from pests and marauders. The meaning developed to indicate any barrier or protection against something.

Significance

• Current usage of the term to "hedge your bets" means to protect yourself from losses, or to create a protective barrier around your bets or your business speculation. In other words, surrounding a bet with a larger, less risky and better secured investment. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, this use of the phrase has been common since the 1670s.

Negative Use

• While hedging one's bets is generally taken to be a positive, wise move, hedging also has negative connotations. The phrase "hedging" can also mean being over protective, and refusing to commit to any position. Hedging taken to the extreme becomes noncommittal and wishy washy.