Learn English – What’s the informal word for a small challenge

american-englishcontemporary-englishsingle-word-requests

Example:

I challenge you to get her number. If you get it, you earn a beer.

It's sort of a friendly bet. It's a short 3-5 letter word. I've heard it but can't recall it. Please help.

Something pertaining to: bet, challenge, dare, play, sport, game, toy.

May also relate: a clever move, trick, stunt, tactic.

Best Answer

A word I've heard used in this context is a wager, which TFD defines as:

An agreement under which each bettor pledges a certain amount to the other depending on the outcome of an unsettled matter.

In this case, the unsettled matter is whether the lady will give the challenged party her number. The challenger is pledging a free beer to the challenged party; if the challenged party accepts, they are pledging to get her number.

Given the casual nature of the bet, this might even qualify as a friendly wager, a phrase whose popularity is shown in this nGram plot.

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