And the winner is...

[Judith E. Schrier]

The Entries:
gambier - n. - a French Canadian _voyageur_ who has settled in a Native
American village and adopted local customs.  By -David Randall  (0 pt)
COMMENTS
- MyS: I love this, but it's too plausibly French.
0 pts, but honorable mention.  Ranjit Bhatnagar
"Are the indigenous people in *Canada*
referred to as "Native [North?] Americans"?  No sale."  E Zuckerman
"Um... nah."  Jean-Joseph Cote

gambier -n.- the hinged brace on a freestanding ladder By -MYShane (5 pt)
2 points: James Kushner "It sounds just like one of those
carpentry terms."
1 point: Pierre Abbat
2 points: Jean-Joseph Cote <jjcote at juno.com>
"Took me a few moments to figure out what this meant -- the things that
keep a stepladder from doing the splits.  Whay the hey."
COMMENT
"Isn't a freestanding ladder one that just leans against a wall --
i.e., *without* the hingey-bracey things?" E Zuckerman

gambier - n. - A sculptor's assistant who does coarse initial carving,
removing large pieces from the raw stone to bring it to rough shape in
preparation for the artist to begin more detailed work.  By Jean-Joseph
2 points : - MyS "I'll buy this for two points."                (4 pt)
2 points for this one: Fran Poodry

gambier - n. - A railroad laborer assigned to maintenance
work on a track right-of-way. These employees may
live in camp (bunk) cars where they are provided
lodging and meals at a nominal cost. By -Jeff Hutchinson  (1 pt)
1 point for correct "second-best" guess.
COMMENTS
"Derived from "gandy dancer", perhaps? And I thought that bunk-car
room and board was provided entirely by the railroad company.
Certainly, no one would want to pay for that food! (cf. Utah Phillips)"
James Kushner
"The second sentence seems a little to detailed to have come from a
dictionary."  Jean-Joseph Cote

gambier - n. - An artisan who makes combs.   By -Pierre Abbat  (7 pt)
2 points. Aussie Meyer  Why not?
1 point "David Randall"
1 point  Ranjit Bhatnagar  -- sounds real
2 points.  E Zuckerman  Ooooh.  Hmmph.
One point for cleverness:  Fran Poodry
COMMENT
"This would be a great bit of trivia if it were real, but I don't buy
it."  Jean-Joseph Cote

gambier - n. - The croupier's assistant at a roulette table.  By
-Mark-Jason Dominus   (0 pt)
COMMENTS:
"Tee hee. But I thought roulette croupiers
worked solo.  Maybe the tables I've seen (in real life and in the
movies) were just on the small scale."  James Kushner
"Dubious.  Sounds like someone trying to
catch my eye with 'gambler'."  E Zuckerman
"Seems too influenced by 'gambler'."  Jean-Joseph Cote
"Sounds too close to 'gambler'."  Pierre Abbat

gambier - n. - a yellowish catechu obtained from a Malayan woody
vine of the madder family and is used for chewing with the betel
nut and for tanning and dyeing. - Webster's Ninth New Collegiate
Dictionary
1 point: Jeff Hutchinson "I never vote for obscure plants; this time I
will."
COMMENTS:
"Hello, Mr. Randall.   ;-7"   "E Zuckerman"
"Isn't catechu a pokemon?"  Fran: FPoodry at aol.com
"For no reason I can put a finger on, this seems like it could be
Ranjit."  Jean-Joseph Cote
"(Hmm... looks like my hunch was wrong, and it really is the vine
goop.)"  Jean-Joseph Cote <jjcote at juno.com>
"Catechu? Bless you! I didn't know they use the same stuff for chewing
and dyeing; wouldn't it stain their teeth?"  Pierre Abbat
***YES, EXACTLY.  THAT'S AT LEAST PART OF THE POINT OF USING IT.***

gambier - n. - a light spinning windchime activated by the heat of a
candleflame.   By -Aussie Meyer   (2pt)
ONE POINT: James Kushner "...for elegance, although I'm sure it isn't
real. If it's activated by something other than the wind, it ain't a
windchime, is it? Plus, it would get awfully hot if too close to the
flame, thus creating a fire hazard. But if everything's just in
the right balance, especially on a cold winter's night, it would be
delightful. The imagined memory of that joy was what pried the point
out of me."
1 point: E. Zuckerman.   "Pretty!  I'm *sure* this is one of our merry
company, but they get my 1-point vote."
COMMENT:
"We had one of these when I was a kid, and I've seen them other places,
but I've never heard this name for them."  Jean-Joseph Cote

Gambier - n. - (obsolete) the treasurer of a tradesmen's guild, who
collected dues and other fees and kept track of which tradesmen
were thus "licensed" to practice.  By -Fran Poodry  (3 pt)
1 point - MyS: "Not it, but I'll give it a point."
2 points: Pierre Abbat
COMMENTS
"Almost tempted.  But no."  "E Zuckerman"
"Derived from "Gambino", with its mob-union associations ?"  James
Kushner
"Seems like it could be Elliott, or maybe David." - Jean-Joseph Cote

Gambier - n. - a men's jacket, characterized by heavily
padded quilting.  By -E Zuckerman   (10 pt)
1 point. Highly unlikely, but a nice image. -  Aussie Meyer
2 points. David Randall
2 pts. Ranjit Bhatnagar  -- I dunno why, I just like it.
Two points, very plausible.  Eric: ec at shore.net
1 point. Jean-Joseph Cote "Doesn't sound like anything that's currently
in fashion, but it's the one left standing, so it gets one point."
2 points. Jeff Hutchinson.  "Sounds like something connected with
armor: perhaps some kind of quilted coat to be worn underneath heavy
plate."
COMMENT
We haven't been interbastating long enough to call it quilts. Pierre Abbat

So, in order of their entries, we have:

David Randall  (0 points)
MYShane  (5 points)
Jean-Joseph  (4 points)
Jeff Hutchinson  (1 pt)
Pierre Abbat  (7 pt)
Mark-Jason Dominus   (0 pt)
Aussie Meyer   (2pt)
Fran Poodry  (3 pt)
E Zuckerman   (10 pt)
Eric: ec at shore.net  (0 pt)

Which makes E Zuckerman the clear winner, unless (as is highly likely)
I screwed up while creating this Document.  Definitely the nastiest part
of the whole game...

love, judith

Judith E. Schrier, Editor              Laboratory Primate Newsletter
PRIMATE at BROWN.EDU                      Box 1853, Psychology Department
Telephone:  401-863-2511               Brown University
FAX:  401-863-1300                     Providence, RI 02912
On the WWW:  http://www.brown.edu/Research/Primate/