Jig is Up, the

Also: the game is up (UK)

Meaning of The Jig is Up

The jig is up means that one’s scheme, deception, or trick has been exposed or thwarted and so cannot continue; there is no hope in continuing to fool anyone; one has been caught in some wrongdoing or deception.

Sentence Examples

“The jig is up. They know we’ve been skimming from the profits.”

“I already know what’s going on.” “What?” “Look, the jig is up. I know you’re dating my sister!”

“Today, the British monarchy is a withered husk…The jig is up, even if the institution officially remains, and whatever legitimacy the institution may have once enjoyed is palpably a thing of the past.” — Jacobin (May 6, 2023)

“As college students, we all vacillate between enthusiasms, pinballing among stimuli and changing circumstances – until year four, when the jig is up.” — The Guardian (Sep. 3, 2015)

“The game is up, boys, said the principal. We know you are the ones who played the prank.”

Origin

During Shakespeare’s time, the word jig, which today only refers to a dance, was used to refer to trickery or deception, a usage that occurred around 1600. The word ‘up’ is used to mean ‘over’ or ‘lost.’

The game is up occurred during the mid-1800s and originally meant ‘all is lost.’