play off

play off idiom
  1. See under play both ends against the middle.
  2. Break a tie by playing an additional game or period, as in Each team had won three games so they had to play off the tie to decide the championship.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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