Rock on party dude. Stipistopi (dibs) on one of the kits
Dibs (also Bags/Bagsy, shotgun and other variants) is a common informal convention to reserve or declare full or partial ownership of a community resource, such as a chair, or the ability to have priority regarding speaking to an attractive man or woman (e.g. at a party) used primarily in Canada, Ireland, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and the U.K., and by friends or siblings. In Chicago, "dibs" also refers to the practice of holding a shoveled-out parking space after a heavy snowfall by putting chairs, laundry baskets, or other items in the street to mark the claimed space.[1][2]
The etymology of the word is unclear.
One theory for the origin of the word comes from markings made with chalk on the back of livestock up for sale in cattle yards throughout the southern states of the USA. Each potential customer would register their unique mark with a registrar at the meet, who would record this information in a "Dibs Identification Book." These books themselves came to be known collectively as DIBS, thereby forming a backronym. This practice continues today and has been adapted to many new situations.
Another claim for the origin of the term can be found in The Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten. Rosten claims the word is derived from the Yiddish phrase "fin dibsy" which means to lay claim on something. Additionally, the 1967 edition of "Dictionary of American Slang" states that the word "dibs" comes from the verb to divvy.
Claiming dibs on the front seat of a car is called "Calling shotgun" although shotgun can be used in the same way as "bagsy" in the United Kingdom. Dibs is not binding if the object being claimed is currently in someone's possession[citation needed].
Dibsing is also often used in sports. In the game of tennis, for example, you are allowed to dibs courts. If you are sitting on the sideline and have a match going out within the next few minutes, you may dibs a certain court and no one can use it, even if they get there first. Dibsing is like sending an imaginary you to the court.
Essentially, 'to dib' as a verb has to do with "looking down, bending down, or delving into water."[3]
In the non-English speaking world, there are some local equivalents to this term, including prems in France (the e being pronounced as in collider), buut in the Netherlands, helle in Denmark, pido in Mexico, primeiro or prima in Brazil, pax in Sweden, fus in Norway, stipistopi in Hungary.
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