own game
23
4.9
- noun
- In her own game, she consistently outperformed her competitors with innovative techniques.
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Watch on YouTubeHowever, I promise you cannot beat them at their own game because it just doesn't work that way.
- However, I promise you cannot beat them at their own game because it just doesn't work that way.
- You know, you're always falling short of these ambitious goals of kind of surpassing the West and beating it at its own game.
- Flattery beats it at its own game, so you can't use whether you do services or not as the criterion either.
- Bottom line, you can't beat a narcissistic person at their own game, and if you try you will waste more time than you've already spent.
Examples
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The artist truly shines in her own game, captivating audiences with her remarkable talent.
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He finally excelled in his own game, impressing everyone with his unique strategy.
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You beat me at my own game.
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My goal is to beat them at their own game.
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Yeah, then we gotta find a way to beat him at his own game.
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Try and I'll beat you at your own game.
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I'll beat them at their own game.
Fiction book (1992) -
You concentrate on your own game.
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I think we can beat them at their own game too, and show them what heroes are.
Fiction book (2001) -
So, we have to outplay them at their own game and not be their victim.
Blog text (29)
Synonyms
Doing something very well and showing your best skill
Much better than others in skill or quality
Antonyms
How Skilled
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'own' (belonging to) and 'game' (field or area) combine to suggest 'one's own domain', so part of the meaning is compositional. However, the specific inference that being 'in one's own game' means excelling or performing at one's best is an extended/idiomatic inference that a B1 learner who only knows the literal words may not fully predict without exposure.
Etymology
Own game comes from the image of a player who knows every move in a game they own: the own shows it belongs to them and the game is the set of moves they can use. So, to be in your own game means to be 'skilled' and to have the advantage in your area.