Thread: fair game
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Unread Dec 8th, 2018, 04:48 am
susan53 susan53 is offline
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Default Re: fair game

1. Fair game

"Game" = animals shot for sport or food. Eg someone who hunts lions and other large predators is known as a "big game hunter". Obviously there are strict regulations for hunting - seasons when you can and can't hunt certain animals, regulations concerning whether the animal must be male or female, what age it must have reached etc. So if something is "fair game" it means that you are hunting it legally, following the rules.

The expression is generally used metaphorically, as in your example. As another example, if a politician has made pre-election promises which were not kept after the election, then s/he is "fair game" for criticism by the opposition, the media etc - ie they have the right (=it's fair) to attack (=hunt) him/her.

Notice that you've misquoted the final expression in your example. It should be "ill-gotten gains". "ill" is used in its old meaning of "badly", so "ill-gotten gains" are things that have been acquired illegally or unfairly in some way.

You don't give the source, but I traced it to an episode of Desperate Housewives (oh, the wonders of Google!). One of the characters (Gabrielle) is talking to her lawyer who seems to be explaining that another character (her husband?) intends to take her to court and claim the right to all her money/possessions (ie her "gains"). She is saying that, in fact, they were all legally acquired by her (ie are "fair game") even if her husband's lawyers will claim that they are not legally hers but "ill-gotten".

2. Ted is still at large and they want John to flip on him

First of all, you need to understand that "at large" means still free, and not yet arrested by the police. A criminal might be "at large" because the police can't find him/her or, as it seems in this case, because they don't have the proof necessary for the arrest. That's why they want John to "flip on" him - ie to betray him and give them the evidence they need to arrest him.

Hope that's all clear.
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Last edited by susan53 : Dec 8th, 2018 at 10:27 am.
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