pick up one's marbles and go home

verb

To abruptly leave or abandon a situation or activity in which one is dissatisfied with the way it is progressing.

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Meanings

verbpick up one's marbles and go home (third-person singular simple present picks up one's marbles and goes home, present participle picking up one's marbles and going home, simple past picked up one's marbles and went home, past participle picked up one's marbles and gone home)

present singular third person picks up one's marbles and goes home · participle present picking up one's marbles and going home · past picked up one's marbles and went home · participle past picked up one's marbles and gone home

  1. idiomaticinformalTo abruptly leave or abandon a situation or activity in which one is dissatisfied with the way it is progressing.
Cite this entry
APA

pick up one's marbles and go home. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pick%20up%20one's%20marbles%20and%20go%20home

MLA

“pick up one's marbles and go home.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pick%20up%20one's%20marbles%20and%20go%20home. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pick up one's marbles and go home,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pick%20up%20one's%20marbles%20and%20go%20home.

Source: pick up one's marbles and go home on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.