Though differing in degree, the punishment laid on indentured servants for attempting to get out of their contracts shares much in common with NCAA rules that penalize college athletes if they want to transfer to a different institution.

FORBES: National Letter of Indenture: Why College Athletes are Similar to Indentured Servants of Colonial Times

Having taken an early lead, Stoke seemed happy to soak up the West Ham punches and they were lucky to get away with it when Herita Ilunga found a way through on the left wing and laid the ball back into a crowded box, somehow missing all his team-mates.

BBC: West Ham 2-1 Stoke

People are getting laid off, I can't get an extra job to make the mortgage payment - please work with me.

NPR: A Homeowner's Know-how on the Latest in Mortgage Loans

If a traveler with basic insurance is laid off, he or she can now cancel the trip and get a full refund.

MSN: Pink-slip travel

Oriol Romeu, playing in his familiar holding role, laid the defensive platform with Lampard and Raul Meireles deployed further forward and the hosts struggled to get a foothold in the game in the first 25 minutes.

BBC: eng-prem