fair game

American  

noun

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

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

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fair game British  

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

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fair game Idioms  

1. 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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Etymology

Origin of fair game

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

They’ve also gotten used to growing intrusions in the physical world, where everything from bathroom stalls to taxicab seats have become fair game for marketers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

Taking issue with the profile, even condemning it and vociferously panning it, is fair game.

From Slate • Mar. 3, 2026

This could be fair game territory for legally recording because law has not kept pace with technology.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026

Sir Elton said that while he had devoted his life to music, "this does not mean deeply personal things which I have a right to deal with in private are fair game".

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026

The locomotive and the last car of each train were marked with a striped banner of orange and black, indicating that the train was not fair game for air-planes—that it was carrying prisoners of war.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut