to run the table
1
7.3
- idiom
- Informal
:
ganar todos los partidos
- After winning every match in the playoffs, the team managed to run the table and claim the championship.
- run the table and win
Examples
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Before the year, the thought of Notre Dame possibly running the table seemed ludicrous.
Blog text (9) -
If you run the table in any conference, then you have a legitimate claim to be considered for the popularity contest that decides who and where you are.
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But did you see the names who ran the table tonight and last?
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I believe they run the table, but Texas in two weeks will give them all they can handle.
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If they run the table, they deserve to be there.
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If we can run the table, it would set the stage for a great 2013 campaign, along with continuing the great recruiting.
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These seniors will be remembered forever if they run the table.
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Do the Buckeyes run the table?
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If Rutgers runs the table, they deserve to play in a major bowl.
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Kansas State, Oregon, and Notre Dame have run the table thus far, but they may not all end the year undefeated.
Blog text (9)
Synonyms
43
3.2
To win all games or contests in a competition
Antonyms
How Successful
Surface Forms
Morphology
run + the + table
The sense 'to win every game in a series' cannot be predicted from the literal meanings of 'run' (move/manage) and 'table' (piece of furniture); knowing the constituents would not lead a B1 learner to that sports idiom. This phrase derives from billiards ('to run the table' = clear the balls) and has been extended metaphorically to winning streaks, so its meaning is idiomatic and requires prior exposure.
Etymology
Run the table comes from old table games like billiards. In those games, a player who could run the table would sink every ball in one turn, so the phrase now means 'to win every game or match without a loss'.