cash in one's chips

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

cash in one's chips (third-person singular simple present cashes in one's chips, present participle cashing in one's chips, simple past and past participle cashed in one's chips)

1. (idiomatic) To discontinue an activity, accepting whatever gains or losses one has incurred; to give up.
   • 1913, B. M. Bower, chapter 13, in The Gringos:

     "Looks like these grandees'll have to cash in their chips and quit, but it's a darned shame."

   • 1988 October 25, Andrea Adelson, “Business People: Harrah's Officer Joins Resorts International”, in New York Times, retrieved 14 June 2011:

     Yesterday the polo-playing executive cashed in his chips at Harrah's to take a post with even higher stakes, agreeing to become president and chief executive of Resorts International Inc.

   • 2005 June 21, Thomas McCarroll, “Corporate Raider on the Ropes”, in Time:

     "I am not going to stand by and watch this company bleed to death. If we can't make money, I will cash in my chips."

2. (idiomatic) To die.
   • 1950 January 10, H. L. MacPherson, “Another Outlaw Dies With Boots Off”, in Windsor Star, Canada, retrieved 14 June 2011:

     A tough old hombre, unregenerate to the last, cashed in his chips in Oklahoma City the other day.

   • 1982 January 24, Evan Hunter, “Spies and Moles and Other Entertainers”, in New York Times, retrieved 14 June 2011:

     So what are trained readers of spy novels supposed to believe when Michael cashes in his chips and two strangers arrive to remove his body from the premises?

   • 2007 Feb. 7, Cowboy Dan Lewis, "Two Birds, But No Stone," Julian News (California, USA), p. 6 (retrieved 14 June 2011):

     Two years and one month ago I broke my neck in a car accident. I made it through but just barely. I came real close to cashing in my chips.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:die

See also

• cut one's losses

References

• “cash in one's chips”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.