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the jig is up

An expression used to mean "We have been caught out and have no defence", or if spoken to a person who's just been found out as the perpetrator of an offense, it means "You've been discovered.".

Etymology:

  • Jig is an old term for a lively dance, and in the Elizabethan era the word also became slang for a practical joke or a trick. This idiom derives from this obsolete slang word.
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Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'the jig is up':

the jig is upWhen one's plans, schemes, distractions, falsifications, feints, sleight of hand's, and 'dirty tricks' fail, one must admit.
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la plantilla está arriba

le gabarit est en place

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