Idiom
The game is afoot
The game is afoot means that something exciting, such as an adventure, a plan or an investigation, has begun.
How people use it
People say it with a sense of drama or fun when a mystery, plan or contest is starting: The guests are arriving and the surprise party is ready. The game is afoot. It is playful and a little old-fashioned, so it often sounds theatrical or jokey. It is strongly linked with detective stories. Game here means hunted animals, not a sport or board game, and afoot means on the move or in progress.
Also said: the game's afoot.
Examples
- Maya found a clue to her missing scarf and whispered, 'The game is afoot.'
- The scavenger hunt map is ready, so the game is afoot.
- When Dad spotted raccoon tracks in the snow, he grinned and said the game was afoot.
Where it comes from
Shakespeare used the phrase twice. In Henry IV, Part 1, Northumberland says before the game is afoot, and in Henry V the king rallies his soldiers with the game's afoot. In both, game refers to hunted animals that have been startled from cover and are running. Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes said the game is afoot to Watson in a 1904 story, which made it famous as a detective's line.
Check yourself
1. What does game mean in the game is afoot?
Answer: Hunted animals on the move. In Shakespeare's time, game meant animals being hunted, and afoot meant moving.
2. Which fictional detective made the phrase famous?
Answer: Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes says the game is afoot in a 1904 story by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Similar idioms
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