meet one's match

Idioms & Phrases

meet one's match

Encounter someone equal in ability to oneself, as in The chess champion was about to meet his match in a computer. This expression originated about 1300 as find one's match, but the alliterative meet was being used by the mid-1500s and has survived.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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