What it means
A way of saying something’s as good as won or sorted, even if the official result hasn’t landed yet. If it’s in the bag, you’re already counting it as yours, like the deal’s signed or the match is over. Works for jobs, exams, sales, anything. Can sound a bit cocky, so use it when you’re genuinely confident.
Usage examples
"Interview went sweet, mate. Job’s in the bag. Don’t jinx it. Too late, I’ve already told Mum and ordered a celebratory chippy tea."
"My sister told the whole family her new flat in Manchester was in the bag last Tuesday, she handed in the deposit on Wednesday, and on Thursday morning the agent rang to say the landlord had decided to rent to his nephew after all by the end of the week."
"The Sunday quiz was in the bag with three rounds to go, then the picture round threw up six cricket players from the nineties that nobody on our team had ever heard of, and we finished second behind the regulars who win every other month at the local."
Where it comes from
Cricket origin, where a bag of wickets meant the match was effectively won, the same kind of figurative inventory tally that British sports reporting loves. The phrase moved out of the pavilion into business deals, exam predictions and household chores with the same confident tone that comes just before the loss column unexpectedly grows by one final wicket in the eleventh over.
Other ways to say it
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