go fish
No, as a firm negative response.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“If you want to borrow my car, you can go fish.”
“He asked for a raise after only one week, but his boss told him to go fish.”
“When the lobbyist demanded special favors from the senator, she looked him in the eye and told him to go fish.”
Derived from the card game of the same name, in which the phrase serves as the formal response when a player does not possess the card requested by an opponent. It functions as an instruction to draw from the remaining deck.
- 01
all dressed up and nowhere to go
Elaborately attired or otherwise fully prepared for an anticipated situation or activity which, nevertheless, fails to occur.
- 02
all systems go
Everything is ready.
- 03
as you go
While one is doing (something); as one progresses.
- 04
big fish
An important person.
- 05
big fish in a small pond
One who has achieved a high rank or is highly esteemed, but only in a small, relatively unimportant, or little known location or organization.
- 06
bigger fish to fry
A much more pressing issue to attend to.
- 07
boldly go where no man has gone before
To break new ground.
- 08
cold fish
A heartless individual; a person lacking empathy and emotion.
Last updated August 10, 2026