Your protagonist may save their own life by arguing that the bet should follow the exact verbal agreement that they made—and by invoking this technicality, your protagonist manages to evade death entirely.
Let’s say your protagonist makes a bet with someone, and they lose that bet. The price they pay for that bet is death. Your protagonist may save their own life by arguing that the bet should follow the exact verbal agreement that they made—and by invoking this technicality, your protagonist manages to evade death entirely.