upped the ante
Increased the wager
Upped the ante means raised the stakes, increasing what's at risk or required.
The phrase comes from poker, where the ante is the initial bet each player must make.
It extends to any situation where demands, expectations, or commitments escalate: The competitor's new product really upped the ante for the whole industry.
Often implies pressure to match or exceed what came before.
- raisedLifted higher up
- increaseGrowth in amount
- intensifyIncrease in degree
- escalateIncrease in severity
- heightenIncrease in degree
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