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View synonyms for fair game

fair game

noun

  1. a legitimate or likely object of attack, mockery, etc.:

    With his fat, round face, the politician was fair game for the cartoonists.



fair game

noun

  1. a legitimate object for ridicule or attack
  2. archaic.
    hunting quarry that may legitimately be pursued according to the rules of a particular sport
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fair game1

First recorded in 1795–1805
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Idioms and Phrases

A legitimate target for attack or ridicule. For example, On his talk show, authors are considered fair game . This expression alludes to hunting. [Early 1800s]
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Example Sentences

Most forest health experts agree that trees with a diameter at chest height of around 16 inches are fair game for mechanical thinning work.

Another post read, “Maybe I should reach out to local sexual predators and tell them frank strongs kid is fair game.”

He contends that the former president’s phone calls with members of the same gang — whom Pence called a “gaggle of crackpot lawyers” — are similarly fair game.

That was conduct by candidate Trump, not President Trump, and is fair game for prosecution.

From Salon

For some, in the battle for Cold War medals, anything to gain an advantage was fair game.

From BBC

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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