Fair game means a person, subject, or target considered acceptable for attack, criticism, pursuit, or mockery. In poetry, the phrase can expose the ethics of satire, public judgement, courtship, gossip, or political violence. The hunting implication matters: to call someone “fair game” may make aggression seem legitimate. A poet can use the idiom to question who is permitted to be ridiculed or harmed, and why. It is especially useful in poems about power, vulnerability, reputation, and social cruelty.

Fair game refers to someone or something considered a legitimate target for attack, criticism, pursuit, or satire. The phrase comes from hunting and sport, so it carries assumptions about permission, rules, and vulnerability. In poetry, it can question who is allowed to be mocked or harmed. It is useful in political verse, social satire, and poems about reputation, where the speaker may challenge whether the target is truly fair.