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for keeps

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1

For the winner to retain, as in You can't take the marbles back; we were playing for keeps. [Mid-1800s]

2

For an indefinitely long time, forever, as in She is leaving town for keeps.

3

In earnest, seriously, as in We're separating for keeps. [Late 1800s]

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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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