Note to Romeo and Juliet, 1.4.39: "The game was ne'er so fair, and I am done"


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Romeo and Juliet,
Act 1, Scene 4, line 39.
The game was ne'er so fair, and I am done: Romeo is saying that no matter how attractive the ladies are, he's out of the game because of his hopeless love for Rosaline by alluding to a proverb, "He is wise who gives over when the game is fairest," a current version of which is, "Quit while you're ahead." But Romeo gives the proverb a twist by using the word game to mean "quarry," and fair to mean "attractive," so no woman—no matter how pretty or sexy—can attract Romeo's interest in his current lovesick mood.