meaning in context - How's this phrase about a housing bubble in the Economist 'an elegant turn of phrase' ? (2015 Jan)

Source: CBC News, by Don Pittis

It is easy to say in retrospect that the results were predictable. But it was the following line in the story that made me sit up and think of Canadian houses.

"The potency of a bubble is its plausibility, to laypeople and experts alike, right up until the moment the game is over," the Economist writer said in an elegant turn of phrase.

1. I consulted ODO's definition of turn of phrase, but what's the 'turn of phrase' here? Is the Economist writer just saying: a bubble's strength derives from the possibility, of the existence of a bubble, until the market^ (substituting by game, but see 2.) is over.

2. What formal terms describe this use of game to imply market? Is it metonymy and/or synecodoche?

Answer

"Turn of phrase" refers to the choice of words in the quotation:

The potency of a bubble is its plausibility, to laypeople and experts alike, right up until the moment the game is over.

This sentence means that economic bubbles are powerful because they don't look like bubbles until they pop (i.e. the market crashes).

"Game" is used as a metaphor. I suspect that this mostly refers to the fun and excitement of a game. Stoney's suggestion that it refers to gambling is also a good one.

EDIT: Elegance is a matter of opinion. The diction doesn't sound remarkable to me. Perhaps the CBC author meant that the quotation captures the essence of a bubble better than other descriptions. I'm used to thinking of elegance in terms of the scientific and technical usage, which is about graceful simplicity. Elegance also refers to a high-class, luxurious aesthetic.

This page about elegance in language may be helpful.