cash in one's chips

Verb

cash in one's chips (third-person singular simple present cashes in one's chips, present participle cashing in one's chips, simple past and past participle cashed in one's chips)

1. (idiomatic) To discontinue an activity, accepting whatever gains or losses one has incurred; to give up.
   • "Looks like these grandees'll have to cash in their chips and quit, but it's a darned shame."1913, B. M. Bower, chapter 13, in The Gringos
   • Yesterday the polo-playing executive cashed in his chips at Harrah's to take a post with even higher stakes, agreeing to become president and chief executive of Resorts International Inc.1988 October 25, Andrea Adelson, “Business People: Harrah's Officer Joins Resorts International”, in New York Times, retrieved 14 Jun 2011
2. (idiomatic) To die.
   • A tough old hombre, unregenerate to the last, cashed in his chips in Oklahoma City the other day.1950 January 10, H. L. MacPherson, “Another Outlaw Dies With Boots Off”, in Windsor Star, Canada, retrieved 14 Jun 2011
   • So what are trained readers of spy novels supposed to believe when Michael cashes in his chips and two strangers arrive to remove his body from the premises?1982 January 24, Evan Hunter, “Spies and Moles and Other Entertainers”, in New York Times, retrieved 14 Jun 2011

   Synonyms:

   die