idioms involving “play”

Make a play for

To try to get something (or someone)

“Kinuta-san, the CEO, made a play for one of our suppliers but the owners wouldn’t sell.” Note: To make a play for a person is to try to win their attention.

Play someone for a fool

To deceive someone intentionally

“Don’t try to play Kaoru-san for a fool. She is very smart.”

Play out

Resolve, work out

“Let’s see how the dispute plays out. Maybe we won’t have to intervene.”

Play down

De-emphasize, soften

“Let’s play down the argument between the sales and engineering department heads in the meeting minutes.” Note: “Play up” means to emphasize, or highlight. “Let’s play up the cooperation between the two plants in the meeting minutes.”

Play around with

To mull over, consider

“Shall we play around with these ideas over the weekend and reconvene the meeting on Monday?”