pass go

do not pass go

cliché A reference to the board game Monopoly, in which a player typically collects $200 when passing the space labeled "Go" unless they receive a card instructing them to go straight to the "Jail" space instead. "Go" is sometimes capitalized.

1. To arrive at some extreme punishment, especially jail time, without delay or any chance of improving the outcome. In a matter of hours, the board had ousted me from the company. Just like that—do not pass Go, do not collect $200. It just seems like we exist in a time where everyone wants people to go straight to jail as soon as an accusation is made—do not pass go, nothing.

2. To do something or go somewhere without delay, distraction, or deviation. Usually used as an imperative. Listen carefully. When you leave my office, you head straight home, OK? Don't pass go, just keep going until you're past your front door, got it? Before you do anything else, you absolutely must make sure there are no errors in data you entered in the system. Do not wait until tomorrow, do not pass Go—do not delay for any reason.

See also: go, not, pass

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

pass go

tv. to complete a difficult or dangerous task successfully. (From pass go and collect $200 in the game Monopoly.) You had better pass go with this job, or you’ve had it.

See also: go, pass

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.