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You are here: Home / Language / What Does the Expression “When the Chips Are Down” Mean and Where Did the Phrase Originate?

What Does the Expression “When the Chips Are Down” Mean and Where Did the Phrase Originate?

July 20, 2020 by Karen Hill

Chips are used as a substitute for money in gambling.

When things aren’t going well a player’s pile of chips dwindles until he loses everything or makes a recovery.

How he acts under this pressure, “when the chips are down,” is an indication of his character.

That is also how secure, relatively high-yielding stocks came to be called blue chips, because in poker, blue chips are more valuable than white or red ones.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How Many Five-Card Hands Are Possible in a Deck of Fifty-Two and What is a Dead Man’s Hand?
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