gamesmanship

English

Etymology

From game +‎ -s- +‎ -manship or gamesman +‎ -ship.

Noun

gamesmanship (countable and uncountable, plural gamesmanships)

1. The use of legal but unsporting tactics to gain an advantage over one’s opponent.

   They kept the other team waiting on the field until the last possible moment – that was a clear case of gamesmanship.

   • 2024 September 11, Richard Brody, ““Winner” Takes Political Comedy Seriously”, in The New Yorker‎^[1]:

     [Tina] Satter’s film, with its dramatization of the investigators’ formalized gamesmanship and [Reality] Winner’s strategic maneuvering, is fascinating but narrow, both regarding the protagonist and the law at large.

Related terms

• game
• gamesman

See also

• one-upmanship
• brinksmanship