# Term for getting the bottle... last one to survive?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-getting-the-bottle-last-one-to-survive/250002>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 12, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-getting-the-bottle-last-one-to-survive/250002 "2004-06-12T18:52:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-getting-the-bottle-last-one-to-survive/250002/1 "2004-06-12T18:52:53Z")

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Okay.

My co-worker is trying to think of a term that defines this situation.

A group of people go through something together… say a war. They make a pact that the last person to survive gets something, a bottle of wine or a medal or something.

This was done on the Simpsons with Monty and Abe. This was, according to my co-worker, done on MASH, when Potter gets the wine and is sad because he knows he’s the last one left.

Come on SDMB! I know you can do it!

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**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-getting-the-bottle-last-one-to-survive/250002/2 "2004-06-12T18:56:03Z")

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A tontine.

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**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-getting-the-bottle-last-one-to-survive/250002/3 "2004-06-12T18:56:59Z")

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Dear God.

Thank you.

I bet her I could get an answer before we had to go home. We just shut the door.

MWAH!!

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**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-getting-the-bottle-last-one-to-survive/250002/4 "2004-06-13T19:31:14Z")

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Obligatory movie cite: [The Wrong Box](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061204/plotsummary) (1966), with Peter Sellers.

🙂

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-getting-the-bottle-last-one-to-survive/250002/5 "2004-06-14T03:22:04Z")

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Nitpick - It was a bottle of fine brandy, not wine.

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**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-getting-the-bottle-last-one-to-survive/250002/6 "2004-06-14T04:47:30Z")

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Likewise, there was a M_A_S\*H episode where Col. Potter is the last survivor of a group of WWI buddies and gets the tontine (also a bottle [or bottles] of alcohol).

Zev Steinhardt