(from an article in The New Yorker about Donald Trump's campaign)
Asked by the Associated Press about the possibility of a Trump Presidency, she said, “I don’t want to think about that possibility, but if it should be, then everything is up for grabs.”
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the noun grab as
- : a quick attempt to take or get something
: the act of taking something in a forceful or illegal way
- Is perhaps the expression “up for grabs” derogatory?
- Is it an American English saying? What would a British English person say instead?
- Does "everything is up for grabs" mean the same as You can grab up everything?
Best Answer
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/up+for+grabs
referring to the link above "up for grabs "is an idiom means:
The election is up for grabs. Everything is still very chancy. I don't know who will get the promotion. It's up for grabs.
This is a madhouse. The whole place is up for grabs. When the market crashed, the whole office was up for grabs.
The first definition doesn't really fit the quote, because when Trump has claimed the Presidency it's not available anymore!
Also note that the idiom "up for grabs" exists in both American and British English with the same meaning. Reference: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/up-for-grabs http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/up-for-grabs
Hope it helps you