Meanings
do not pass go, do not collect $2001
alternative UK do not pass go, do not collect £200
- humorousA phrase indicating that something must be done directly without delays or deviations.
A swastika sends you directly to the h-word, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.
2021, Gordon Korman, Linked, page 154 more examples
We will all go directly to our own respective Valhallas/Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dallahs
1959, Tom Lehrer, "We Will All Go Together When We Go"The only people who get through the doors without are couriers, and they get escorted all the way: make their delivery, get a signature then straight back out - do not pass Go, do not collect two hundred dollars.
2002, Christopher Brookmyre, Not the End of the World, page 230Two months later I hit the second knuckle on my pointer finger – six more stitches, do not pass Go, do not collect two hundred dollars – and damaged a tendon in the process.
2005, Ralph Scherder, The Taxidermist's Son, page 160I'm getting a part on a pilot. I don't have to audition — do not pass go, do not collect $200, just go straight to acting.
2010, John Scalzi, Agent to the Stars, page 290
do not pass Go, do not collect $2002
- alternativeAlternative form of do not pass go, do not collect $200.
Origin
From the Monopoly game, where it is written on cards that send one directly to jail.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
do not pass go, do not collect $200. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20not%20pass%20go%2C%20do%20not%20collect%20%24200
“do not pass go, do not collect $200.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20not%20pass%20go%2C%20do%20not%20collect%20%24200. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “do not pass go, do not collect $200,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20not%20pass%20go%2C%20do%20not%20collect%20%24200.
Source: do not pass go, do not collect $200 on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.