Re: The game is afoot. -- When SH said it, [the game] was the Perp?

HenHanna wrote:
> 
> The game is afoot.

Henry V, Act III, Scene I

I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot.

>               When SH said it, [the game] was the Perp?

Yes, but...

> WHY, then, today we often think of it as:
> 
>             [The fun match has started] ?
> 
>   [The Game] as   a board-game, a friendly match....
>                (a competition, a fun activity)
>                              something  to be played?
> 
> Did the meaning of the [game] change?

As a law enforcement detective type, Holmes not
only means by game the Perp where game means a
hunter's quarry , but can also mean whatever
scheme the Perp has in play. In a philosophical
sense it is also The Game.