Meaning
A traditional Jamaican numbers gambling game in which players stake money on numbers from 1 to 36. Each number is tied to a symbol and a meaning, and many players choose theirs by reading their dreams — a dream of a certain thing pointing to a certain number to play. A fixture of Jamaican street life and folk belief, drop-pan blends gambling with the lore of dreams and signs, and 'playing yuh dream' at the drop-pan is a familiar hope of turning a night's vision into a small fortune.
Examples
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Him play him dream number inna di drop-pan.
He played his dream number in the drop-pan game.
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Granny always a play drop-pan.
Grandma is always playing drop-pan.
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Which number drop today?
Which number came up today?
Origin
From the 'pan' into which the winning number was 'dropped'; a numbers game with Chinese-Jamaican roots that spread across the island.
How it’s used
Long an informal, popular pastime. Players keep 'dream books' that turn dream images into numbers to bet on.