game : Idioms & Phrases


ahead of the game

  • adverb in an advantageous position
    • she's ahead of the game
WordNet

american football game

  • noun a game played by two teams of 11 players on a rectangular field 100 yards long; teams try to get possession of the ball and advance it across the opponents goal line in a series of (running or passing) plays
    American football.
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athletic game

  • noun a game involving athletic activity
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away game

  • noun a game played away from home
    away game.
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ball game

  • noun a field game played with a ball (especially baseball)
    ballgame.
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banking game

  • noun any gambling game in which bets are laid against the gambling house or the dealer
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baseball game

  • noun a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs
    baseball.
    • he played baseball in high school
    • there was a baseball game on every empty lot
    • there was a desire for National League ball in the area
    • play ball!
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basketball game

  • noun a game played on a court by two opposing teams of 5 players; points are scored by throwing the ball through an elevated horizontal hoop
    basketball; hoops.
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big game

  • noun large animals that are hunted for sport
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Black game, or Black grouse

  • . (Zoöl.) See Blackcock, Grouse, and Heath grouse.
Webster 1913

blame game

  • noun accusations exchanged among people who refuse to accept sole responsibility for some undesirable event
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board game

  • noun a game played on a specially designed board
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bunco game

  • noun a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property
    bunko; bunco game; bunko game; sting; flimflam; con game; gyp; bunco; hustle; confidence trick; con.
WordNet

bunko game

  • noun a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property
    bunko; bunco game; bunko game; sting; flimflam; con game; gyp; bunco; hustle; confidence trick; con.
WordNet

Capitoline games

  • (Antiq.), annual games instituted at Rome by Camillus, in honor of Jupter Capitolinus, on account of the preservation of the Capitol from the Gauls; when reinstituted by Domitian, arter a period of neglect, they were held every fifth year.
Webster 1913

card game

  • noun a game played with playing cards
    cards.
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chess game

  • noun a board game for two players who move their 16 pieces according to specific rules; the object is to checkmate the opponent's king
    chess.
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child's game

  • noun a game enjoyed by children
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computer game

  • noun a game played against a computer
    computer game.
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con game

  • noun a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property
    bunko; bunco game; bunko game; sting; flimflam; con game; gyp; bunco; hustle; confidence trick; con.
WordNet

Confidence game

  • noun a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property
    bunko; bunco game; bunko game; sting; flimflam; con game; gyp; bunco; hustle; confidence trick; con.
WordNet
  • any swindling operation in which advantage is taken of the confidence reposed by the victim in the swindler.
Webster 1913

court game

  • noun an athletic game played on a court
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crap game

  • noun playing craps
    crapshoot; crap shooting.
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day game

  • noun a game played in daylight
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Drawn gamebattle

  • one in which neither party wins; one equally contested.
Webster 1913

end game

  • noun the final stages of an extended process of negotiation
    endgame.
    • the diplomatic endgame
  • noun the final stages of a chess game after most of the pieces have been removed from the board
    endgame.
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exhibition game

  • noun a game whose outcome is not recorded in the season's standing
    exhibition game.
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fair game

  • noun a person who is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence
    prey; target; quarry.
    • he fell prey to muggers
    • everyone was fair game
    • the target of a manhunt
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field game

  • noun an outdoor game played on a field of specified dimensions
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football game

  • noun any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal
    football.
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gambling game

  • noun a game that involves gambling
    gambling game.
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Game bag

  • a sportsman's bag for carrying small game captured; also, the whole quantity of game taken.
Webster 1913

Game bird

  • noun any bird (as grouse or pheasant) that is hunted for sport
WordNet
  • any bird commonly shot for food, esp. grouse, partridges, quails, pheasants, wild turkeys, and the shore or wading birds, such as plovers, snipe, woodcock, curlew, and sandpipers. The term is sometimes arbitrarily restricted to birds hunted by sportsmen, with dogs and guns.
Webster 1913

Game egg

  • an egg producing a gamecock.
Webster 1913

game equipment

  • noun equipment or apparatus used in playing a game
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game fish

  • noun any fish providing sport for the angler
    sport fish.
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game fowl

  • noun any of several breeds reared for cockfighting
WordNet
Game" fowl`
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) A handsome breed of the common fowl, remarkable for the great courage and pugnacity of the males.
Webster 1913

game law

  • noun a regulation intended to manage or preserve game animals
    game law.
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Game laws

  • noun a regulation intended to manage or preserve game animals
    game law.
WordNet
  • laws regulating the seasons and manner of taking game for food or for sport.
Webster 1913

game license

  • noun a license authorizing the bearer to kill a certain type of animal during a specified period of time
    hunting license; hunting permit; hunting licence.
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game misconduct

  • noun (ice hockey) a penalty that suspends a player for the remainder of a game (but allows the team to send in a substitute for the suspended player)
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game of chance

  • noun a game that involves gambling
    gambling game.
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game plan

  • noun (figurative) a carefully thought out strategy for achieving an objective in war or politics or business or personal affairs
    • newscasters speculated about the President's game plan for an invasion
  • noun (sports) a plan for achieving an objective in some sport
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Game preserver

  • a land owner who regulates the killing of game on his estate with a view to its increase. Eng.
Webster 1913

game room

  • noun a recreation room for noisy activities (parties or children's play etc)
    playroom; rumpus room.
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game show

  • noun a television or radio program in which contestants compete for awards
    giveaway.
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game theory

  • noun (economics) a theory of competition stated in terms of gains and losses among opposing players
    game theory.
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game warden

  • noun a person employed to take care of game and wildlife
    gamekeeper.
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games-master

  • noun the teacher in charge of games at a school
    games-master.
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games-mistress

  • noun the teacher in charge of games at a school
    games-master.
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gaming card

  • noun one of a set of cards used in gambling games
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gaming house

  • noun a public building in which a variety of games of chance can be played (operated as a business)
    gambling hell; gambling den; gambling house.
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gaming table

  • noun a table used for gambling; may be equipped with a gameboard and slots for chips
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go game

  • noun a board game for two players who place counters on a grid; the object is to surround and so capture the opponent's counters
    go.
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golf game

  • noun a game played on a large open course with 9 or 18 holes; the object is use as few strokes as possible in playing all the holes
    golf.
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Grab game

  • a theft committed by grabbing or snatching a purse or other piece of property. Colloq.
Webster 1913

Ground game

  • hares, rabbits, etc., as distinguished from winged game.
Webster 1913

guessing game

  • noun a game in which participants compete to identify some obscurely indicated thing
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head game

  • noun the act of deluding; deception by creating illusory ideas
    delusion; illusion.
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Heath grouse, ∨ Heath game

  • (Zoöl.), a European grouse (Tetrao tetrix), which inhabits heats; called also black game, black grouse, heath poult, heath fowl, moor fowl. The male is called, heath cock, and blackcock; the female, heath hen, and gray hen.
Webster 1913

High, low, jack, and the game

  • a game at cards; also called all fours, old sledge, and seven up.
Webster 1913

hockey game

  • noun a game played on an ice rink by two opposing teams of six skaters each who try to knock a flat round puck into the opponents' goal with angled sticks
    ice hockey; hockey.
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home game

  • noun a game played at home
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Isthmian games

  • noun the ancient Panhellenic games held biennially on the Isthmus of Corinth in the first and third years of each Olympiad
WordNet
  • (Gr. Antiq.), one of the four great national festivals of Greece, celebrated on the Isthmus of Corinth in the spring of every alternate year. They consisted of all kinds of athletic sports, wrestling, boxing, racing on foot and in chariots, and also contests in music and poetry. The prize was a garland of pine leaves.
Webster 1913

Love game

  • a game, as in tennis, in which the vanquished person or party does not score a point.
Webster 1913

make-game

Make"-game` noun
Definitions
  1. An object of ridicule; a butt. Godwin.
Webster 1913

Match game

  • noun an international championship match
    match game; test match.
WordNet
  • a game arranged as a test of superiority.
Webster 1913

matched game

  • noun an international championship match
    match game; test match.
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May game

  • any May-day sport.
Webster 1913

mind game

  • noun any game designed to exercise the intellect
  • noun deliberate actions of calculated psychological manipulation intended to intimidate or confuse (usually for competitive advantage)
    • football players try to play mind games with the opposition
    • the jeweler's mind game is to convince lovers that the size of a gemstone reflects the depth of their feelings
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Moor game

  • . (Zoöl.) Same as Moor fowl (above).
Webster 1913

mug's game

  • noun a futile or unprofitable endeavor
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nemean games

  • noun the ancient Panhellenic games held biennially at Nemea in the second and fourth years of each Olympiad
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night game

  • noun a game played under artificial illumination at night
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no-hit game

  • noun a game in which a pitcher allows the opposing team no hits
    no-hitter.
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numbers game

  • noun an illegal daily lottery
    numbers racket; numbers; numbers pool.
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olympian games

  • noun the ancient Panhellenic celebration at Olympia in honor of Zeus; held every 4 years beginning in 776 BC
    Olympian Games.
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olympic games

  • noun the modern revival of the ancient games held once every 4 years in a selected country
    Olympics; Olympiad.
  • noun the ancient Panhellenic celebration at Olympia in honor of Zeus; held every 4 years beginning in 776 BC
    Olympian Games.
WordNet

Olympic games, ∨ Olympics

  • (Greek Antiq.), the greatest of the national festivals of the ancient Greeks, consisting of athletic games and races, dedicated to Olympian Zeus, celebrated once in four years at Olympia, and continuing five days.
Webster 1913

outdoor game

  • noun an athletic game that is played outdoors
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Panel game

  • a method of stealing money in a panel house.
Webster 1913

parlor game

  • noun a game suitable for playing in a parlor
    parlor game.
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parlour game

  • noun a game suitable for playing in a parlor
    parlor game.
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party game

  • noun a game to amuse guests at a party
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passing game

  • noun (American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
    passing; passing play; pass.
    • the coach sent in a passing play on third and long
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perfect game

  • noun a game in which a pitcher does not allow any opposing player to reach base
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pinball game

  • noun a game played on a sloping board; the object is to propel marbles against pins or into pockets
    pinball.
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playoff game

  • noun one game in the series of games constituting a playoff
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poker game

  • noun any of various card games in which players bet that they hold the highest-ranking hand
    poker.
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practice game

  • noun a game whose outcome is not recorded in the season's standing
    exhibition game.
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Pythian games

  • noun the ancient Panhellenic celebration at Delphi held every four years in the third year of the Olympiad in honor of Apollo
WordNet
  • (Gr. Antiq.), one of the four great national festivals of ancient Greece, celebrated near Delphi, in honor of Apollo, the conqueror of the dragon Python, at first once in eight years, afterward once in four.
Webster 1913

road game

  • noun a game played away from home
    away game.
WordNet

Round game

  • a game, as of cards, in which each plays on his own account.
Webster 1913

running game

  • noun (American football) a play in which a player attempts to carry the ball through or past the opposing team
    running; run; running play.
    • the defensive line braced to stop the run
    • the coach put great emphasis on running
WordNet

Scrub game

  • a game, as of ball, by unpracticed players.
Webster 1913

Secular games

  • noun the centennial rites and games of ancient Rome that marked the commencement of a new generation (100 years representing the longest life in a generation); observances may have begun as early as the 5th century BC and lasted well into the Christian era
    Ludi Saeculares.
WordNet
  • (Rom. Antiq.), games celebrated, at long but irregular intervals, for three days and nights, with sacrifices, theatrical shows, combats, sports, and the like.
Webster 1913

shell game

  • noun a swindling sleight-of-hand game; victim guesses which of three things a pellet is under
    thimblerig.
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softball game

  • noun a game closely resembling baseball that is played on a smaller diamond and with a ball that is larger and softer
    softball.
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stage of the game

  • [Colloq.] stage n. 10.
Webster 1913

stickball game

  • noun a form of baseball played in the streets with a rubber ball and broomstick handle
    stickball.
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table game

  • noun a game that is played on a table
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theory of games

  • noun (economics) a theory of competition stated in terms of gains and losses among opposing players
    game theory.
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To be game

  • . (a) To show a brave, unyielding spirit. (b) To be victor in a game. Colloq.
Webster 1913

To die game

  • to maintain a bold, unyielding spirit to the last; to die fighting.
Webster 1913

To make game of

  • to make sport of; to mock.
Webster 1913

To preserve game

  • to protect it from extermination.
Webster 1913

video game

  • noun a game played against a computer
    computer game.
WordNet

volleyball game

  • noun a game in which two teams hit an inflated ball over a high net using their hands
    volleyball.
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waiting game

  • noun a strategy of delay
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war game

  • noun a simulation of a military operation intended to train military commanders or to demonstrate a situation or to test a proposed strategy
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White game

  • (Zoöl.), the white ptarmigan.
Webster 1913

winter olympic games

  • noun an Olympics for winter sports
    Winter Olympics.
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word game

  • noun any game involving the formation or alteration or discovery of words
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zero-sum game

  • noun a game in which the total of all the gains and losses is zero
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