Definition of "little-go" [little-go]

• A private lottery, especially when illegal. (noun)
• The first exam taken at university towards a BA degree, discontinued during the twentieth century. (noun)

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• "Fane, one of our brightest ornaments; quite the _spes gregis_ we consider him; passed his little-go, and started a pink only last week; give him a glass of punch."
• "James’s tongue unloosed with the port, and he told his cousin his life, his prospects, his debts, his troubles at the little-go, and his rows with the proctors, filling rapidly from the bottles before him, and flying from Port to Madeira with joyous activity."
• "For John was passionately fond of the classics and did not propose to acquire any more mathematical knowledge than was strictly necessary for his matriculation and "little-go.""