Meaning

The game is afoot

Categorised in: 135 Phrases coined by William Shakespeare

What's the meaning of the phrase 'The game is afoot'?

The phrase 'the game is afoot' means 'the process is underway'; for example, 'The teams are on the pitch - the whistle blows - the game is afoot.'

Woe is me
Woe is me - caption

What’s the origin of the phrase ‘The game is afoot’?

The first use of ‘the game is afoot’ is found in Shakespeare’s King Henry IV Part I, 1597:

“Before the game is afoot, thou still let’st slip.”