in the books

English

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Prepositional phrase

in the books

1. (idiomatic) Finished; concluded; able to be regarded as a matter of record.
   • 1982 Feb. 3, Bob Ryan, "Parish spruces up Celtics, 109-105," Boston Globe p. S-1 (retrieved 18 March 2013):

     Two Bird swishes and a Johnny Davis three-point air ball later, the victory was in the books.

   • 1998 May 25, Ted Geltner, “Ocala's Peggy Takacs Wins Big With Oscar Picks”, in Ocala Star-Banner, retrieved 19 March 2013, page 1C:

     The 1998 Academy Awards ceremony is in the books, and now that we have had a chance to reflect on the big event, we can put the proceedings in some context.

   • 2008 October 17, Alex Altman, “The Bradley Effect”, in Time:

     With the presidential debates in the books and a commanding lead in the polls, Barack Obama appears to be coasting toward history.