name of the game, the

Idioms  

1. The crux of the matter; also, the main goal. For example, Getting them to admit they're wrong—that's the name of the game, or Parents don't approve of a coach who insists that winning any way one can is the name of the game. This rhyming idiom uses name in the sense of “identity.” [Mid-1900s]

---

Example Sentences

That was the name of the game, the simple commandment many adhere to no matter which age you stick on the mitts.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2023

“In a university lab the name of the game, the end product, is a paper,” says Michel Laberge, founder of General Fusion in Vancouver, who has a Ph.D. in physics.

From Time • Nov. 29, 2