a bar bet just waiting to happen

The word "boycott" originated with a real person: Capt. Charles C. Boycott, a land agent in Ireland who in the late 1800s was ostracized for his refusal to reduce rents. It's an example of an eponym, a word that derives from an individual's name. Some other examples: sandwich, sideburns, quisling, maverick, guillotine, bloomers, bougainvillea, leotard and guppy.