Meaning

A game of two halves

The meaning of the phrase

Circumstances have changed suddenly.

A game of two halves

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.

Historical trend

“A game of two halves” in printed material over time

Source: Google Books Ngrams (2000–2020).

20002020
  • A game of two halves