only game in town, the

Idioms  

1. The only choice, which one must accept for want of a better one. For example, Out here, this bank is the only game in town when it comes to financial services. This term, dating from the early 1900s, originally alluded to a gambler looking for a game in a strange town.

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Example Sentences

“We’ve lost the Chargers. This is the only game in town. The Padre fans are absolutely showing out, from Del Mar on down. I’ve been everywhere since I’ve been here the last few days. It feels good. It feels electric.”

From Los Angeles Times

“We’ve lost the Chargers. This is the only game in town. The Padre fans are absolutely showing out, from Del Mar on down … it feels good. It feels electric.”

From Los Angeles Times

“His ‘toast’ comment was hearkening back to yesteryear,” when advertisers clamored to place their ads in newspapers as the only game in town, the Omaha Guild’s Cooper told me.

From Los Angeles Times

“While public stock markets no doubt remain important, they are no longer the only game in town,” the Millstein Center report concluded.

From Washington Post

It wasn’t hard, however, to find what seemed to be the only game in town, the Hana Ranch Restaurant, owned by the nearby Travaasa resort.

From Seattle Times