number is up, one's
(one's) number is up
It is one's time to die, suffer, or be punished. My only wish is that I don't feel any pain when my number is up. This evidence proves that the senator was part of the conspiracy. His number's up this time.
See also: number, up
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
number is up, one's
One is in grave difficulty or near death. For example, She knew her number was up when she saw the look on her supervisor's face, or He looks terrible; I think his number's up. In the earliest use of this phrase, in the early 1800s, number referred to an unfavorable lottery number, but in other citations it could be any number whereby one is identified, such as the number on a military dog tag.
See also: number
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
- (one's) number is up
- one's number is up
- someone's number is up
- your/somebody's number is up
- the exception that proves the rule
- give (something) against (one)
- deed to
- tangled up with (someone or something)
- act of faith
- an act of faith