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The game is up

What's the meaning of the phrase 'The game is up'?

The original meaning was ‘the game is over – all is lost‘. More recently it has come to be used to mean ‘ we have seen through your tricks – your deceit is exposed’.

What's the origin of the phrase 'The game is up'?

From Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, 1611:

Euriphile, Thou wast their nurse; they took thee for their mother,
And every day do honour to her grave:
Myself, Belarius, that am Morgan call’d,
They take for natural father. The game is up.

The history of “The game is up” in printed materials

Trend of the game is up in printed material over time

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About the Author

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.
The game is up

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