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A game of two halves

What's the meaning of the phrase 'A game of two halves'?

Circumstances have changed suddenly.

What's the origin of the phrase 'A game of two halves'?

This football (soccer) commentator’s cliché refers to games which have a different character in the two halves. The source of the phrase isn’t clear. It was in wide use by 1990 when it was listed in a posting in the Usenet newsgroup – rec.sport.soccer. That posting cited a ‘soccer dictionary’ of 1988/89 as the source.

The history of “A game of two halves” in printed materials

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Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

Gary Martin

Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.
A game of two halves

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