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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

Up the ante

Hi,
What does 'up the ante' mean here?
When Melina schemes to get Alex to move closer to her, Bree has no choice but to up the ante by announcing that she's bought the boys a house near here.

Thanks!
  

Top answer

Up the ante is an expression used in games where money is wagered on the outcome. It means to bet more money and the others in the game have to bet more, too. It makes the stakes ( the bets) higher in value.

— AlpheccaStars

  • Up the ante is an expression used in games where money is wagered on the outcome.
  • It means to bet more money and the others in the game have to bet more, too.
  • It makes the stakes ( the bets) higher in value.
  • If the ante is too high, the players who cannot afford to lose their stake will drop out of the game.
  • The expression can also be used metaphorically in social situations, where the favor of a girl is what the boys want to win, or the favor of a boy is what the girls want to win.
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3 Answers
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Up the ante is an expression used in games where money is wagered on the outcome.
It means to bet more money and the others in the game have to bet more, too. It makes the stakes ( the bets) higher in value. If the ante is too high, the players who cannot afford to lose their stake will drop out of the game.

The expression can also be used metaphorically in social situations, w
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AlpheccaStarswhere the favor of a girl is what the boys want to win, or the favor of a boy is what the girls want to win.
Hi AlpheccaStars,
Thank you very much for your explanation. What does 'favor' refer to here?
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If you have the favor of someone, it means that the other person pays a lot of attention to you, spends a lot of time with you, thinks about you often, "friends" you on facebook, tells everyone else how good you are, and so on.

If a person has the Queen's favor, they will get invited to all the royal parties and *****, be invited to sit near the Queen at a formal state dinner, earn titles
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