Usage of the word “game”

Question

I often hear this word 'game'. One of the questions in the site talks about the meaning of "I am game". Users have replied that "I am game" implies that I am up for the challenge.

But I would like to know the exact meaning and context regarding the usage of the word 'game'. I've also seen it being used in Eminem's rap songs saying "I am married to a game".

So what exactly is this word word 'game'? What is its context and usage?

Answer 1

I think the lyric you are talking of comes from the track "Not Afraid". If that is the case, then it is in fact:

married to the game

Here, the game refers to an industry, in this case the music industry; many hip-hop artists talk of The Rap Game and it simply means the genre/industry that they are a part of.

To be married to the game then, means to be so serious about your work, so committed to your job, that it is like a marriage.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

As an adjective, game means "eager and willing to do something new or challenging."

They were game for anything after the traumas of Monday.

Answer 3

On the lighter side (and because it's too long to fit as a comment)...

A woman was married to a lazy man. He never mowed the lawn, he never took out the garbage, he rarely kept a job for more than six months, and was not someone who could generally be considered a 'good provider'. One day, when she was at wit's end, she yelled at her husband, "If you're not going to try to find a job that will put food on our table, the least you could do is go out in the woods and shoot some game!"

The hen-pecked man collected his hunting gear and walked off into the woods.

After some hours he came into a clearing where a beautiful young woman was sunning herself on a blanket. "Are you game?" he asked her.

The young woman looked up at him provocatively and said "I sure am."

...So he shot her.