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Glite Dictionary
to win one for the Gipper

to win one for the Gipper

9.9
To win a game or contest to honor someone
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : ganar uno por el Gipper
  • And it gets better/more melodramatic: On his deathbed, he asked Rockne to tell the team to "Win one for the Gipper."

Examples

  • After his inspiring speech, the players were motivated to win one for the Gipper and honor their legacy.

  • The coach inspired the team to win one for the Gipper during the championship game.

  • We gotta win one for the Gipper.

    Reagan (2024)

  • Win one for the Gipper.

    Eddie (1996)

  • The nickname stuck, and years later, as his second presidential term came to an end, Reagan told then-Vice President George H. W. Bush to go out and "win one for the Gipper."

    Blog text (14)

  • They promised to win one for the Gipper as a tribute to their beloved former coach.

Surface Forms

win one for the Gipper infinitive
winning one for the Gipper present participle
wins one for the Gipper third person singular
won one for the Gipper past
won one for the Gipper past participle

Morphology

win + one + for + the + Gipper

The phrase is compositionally predictable: 'win' (to prevail) + 'one' (a single victory) + 'for' (on behalf of) yields 'win a victory for [someone]'. Although 'the Gipper' is a specific cultural/historical nickname that a learner may not recognise, that proper-name aspect does not block the basic meaning, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the MWE's sense.

Etymology

Win one for the Gipper comes from a famous football story. A star player named George Gipp, called the Gipper, was dying and told his coach to have the team 'win one' for him, so today the phrase means 'to win in someone's honor'.