name of the game

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

name of the game

1. (idiomatic, almost always preceded by the, informal) The essential element (needed to reach the principal goal or objective); the overall purpose.

   In the microprocessor business, speed is the name of the game.

   • 1988, “Supersonic”, performed by J. J. Fad:

     Behind the turntables is DJ Train / Mixin' and scratchin' is the name of the game

   • 2020 January 8, Felicity Cloake, “How to make the perfect gluten-free chocolate brownies”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Some recipes also use raising agents, but I don’t think they’re really necessary – fluffiness is not the name of the game here.

Translations

essential element or objective

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 關鍵／关键 (zh) (guānjiàn)

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: pelin henki
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “name of the game n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang