long game

1. British term for a long-term confidence trick, or con. A multi-step scam, often involving multiple people and aimed at obtaining large sums of money from marks, or suckers.

2. More generally, any strategy with a long-term goal of gaining the upper-hand. Often used to describe politicians trying to outwit opponents.

1. Took a year, but Richard and Alice managed to get a couple dozen rich widows to invest in their bogus mutual fund; they played the long game and won big.

2. The prime minister seemed weak in his negotiations with the Russians, but in reality she's playing the long game and giving them a false sense of security.

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