the game is up

phrase

Secret plans or activities have been revealed, usually leading to their failure.

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Meanings

phrase
  1. idiomaticinformalSecret plans or activities have been revealed, usually leading to their failure.

    So far as Pridger was concerned the game was up. He had cooked the buying, he had cooked the selling, he had systematically pillaged the stock.

    1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: the game is up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.