in the refrigerator

prepositional phrase

Of a game: having its outcome beyond a doubt, despite the fact that time is remaining before the final buzzer.

“This game's in the refrigerator. The door's closed, the light's out, the eggs are cooling, the butter's getting hard and the Jell-O's jiggling!”

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. slangball gamesOf a game: having its outcome beyond a doubt, despite the fact that time is remaining before the final buzzer.

    This game's in the refrigerator. The door's closed, the light's out, the eggs are cooling, the butter's getting hard and the Jell-O's jiggling!

Origin

Coined by sportscaster Chick Hearn.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

in the refrigerator. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20refrigerator

MLA

“in the refrigerator.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20refrigerator. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in the refrigerator,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20refrigerator.

Source: in the refrigerator on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.