| 词源 |
the game is up. The Roman comic playwright Terence used essentially the same expression over 2,000 years ago, and the words may go back to the Greeks, considering the Romans’ as- similative temperament. It means “all is over,” “the plot can’t succeed,” “there’s no longer any chance of winning.” The ex- pression the jig is up, referring always to a dishonest activity be- ing over, is an Americanism first recorded in 1777. No one is sure of the origin of jig, though it may be from the dance called a jig or from an obsolete use of jig meaning “trick.” |