Definition of "fair play"
fair play
noun
uncountable
Good behavior; conduct (in sports or another endeavor) that is respectful of the rules, the spirit of the activity, and the adversary.
Quotations
The result, eventually, was the conviction of Mr. Hiss on charges of perjury. But the feature that especially appealed to me was the reputation that Congressman Nixon had achieved for fairness in the investigating process. Not once had he overstepped the limits prescribed by the American sense of fair play or American rules applying to such investigations. He did not persecute or defame.
1963, Dwight Eisenhower, Mandate for Change 1953-1956, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, page 46
Financial fair play – talked about as if it is somehow nothing to do with the way the club is run, an imposition upon their work rather than a consequence of the way they work – meant that they could not spend what they do not generate.
2017 January 18, Sid Lowe, “Chaos at Mestalla: Valencia's journey from Champions League to utter disarray”, in the Guardian
phrase
(colloquial, UK, Ireland) used to acknowledge or congratulate for something.
Quotations
The Gaelic Athletic Association, fair play to them, want absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with that thingumajig football tournament in America.
1994 June 21, Liam Hayes, “GAA's holding its own now, but could lose in the end”, in Irish Voice, archived from the original on 21 April 2016