keep the flag flying

verb

To bid more or less rashly in order to liven up the game.

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Meanings

verbkeep the flag flying (third-person singular simple present keeps the flag flying, present participle keeping the flag flying, simple past and past participle kept the flag flying)

present singular third person keeps the flag flying · participle present keeping the flag flying · participle past kept the flag flying · past kept the flag flying

  1. bridgeTo bid more or less rashly in order to liven up the game.

    […] all I know is that to keep the flag flying is an accepted part of bridge, […]

    1929, The Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality, volume 147, page 96
    1 more example

    In spite of Y's double and in spite of the fact that the spade suit is not of the slightest use to him, as A cannot get any discards on it, A bids two hearts not only to keep the flag flying and prevent Z from going game but with high hopes that Y's double is a bluff.

    1911, Advanced Auction Bridge, page 158
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: keep the flag flying on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.