thought him a fair game

[joham]

He was no bigger than I was, so I thought him a fair game. This sentence comes from one of the comprehension passages in one of China's provinces' university admission examination papers.

I should think the article 'a' before 'fair game' is redundant, isn't it?

Thank you.

[BobK]

That's a rather permissive use of "redundant". The "a" shouldn't be there.

b

[BobK]

PS

I should have clarified: the expression is "fair game" - it doesn't refer to a game, it refers to "game" in the sense of "that which is hunted". Deer, for example, outside the hunting season, is not "fair game". The use of the article forces a misinterpretation of the noun "game". In the context you give, "game" is not countable.

b