| 释义 |
play
verb- to work as a pimp; to hustle US
- I had class, Grief. I never had any filthy low-life junkie bitches when I was playing. — Iceberg Slim (Robert Beck), Death Wish, p. 88, 1977
- to engage in sado-masochistic sex US
- People often describe BDSM with the term “play,” as in, “I’d like to play with her.” — Tristan Taormino, Pucker Up, p. 197, 2001
▶ play ball- to have sex US
Punning on BALL - “ You got game?” continued Cochrane. “You can play some ball?” “My game is excellent,” replied Jones with evident pride. — The Observer, p. 19, 18 March 2001
- to stop idling and start working US
- — Ramon Adams, The Language of the Railroader, p. 116, 1977
- to cooperate with someone else; occasionally applied to inanimate objects such as computers US
- His dossier contains three pages of monikers indicating his proclivity for cooperating with the law, “playing ball” the cops call it. — William Burroughs, Naked Lunch, p. 157, 1957
▶ play bingo
to try to determine the reason for a cash shortage by comparing orders with receipts US- — Maledicta, p. 8, 1996: “Domino’s pizza jargon”
▶ play catch-up
in an athletic contest, to try to catch up and surpass an opponent that at the moment is leading US, 1971- You try not to play catch-up against the Steelers’ super defense. — Washington Post, p. D4, 20 October 1977
▶ play checkers
to move from empty seat to empty seat in a cinema, looking for a sexual partner US
Homosexual usage.- — Robert A. Wilson, Playboy’s Book of Forbidden Words, p. 197, 1972
▶ play dead
to act dumb US- — Lavada Durst, The Jives of Dr. Hepcat, p. 13, 1953
▶ play for the other team
to be homosexual US- — Jeff Fessler, When Drag Is Not a Car Race, p. 39, 1997
- Although I am confident that I can persuade people to play for the other team–I think everyone’s sexuality is a lot more fluid than they think it is or would like to be–I was content with our friendship. — The Village Voice, 1 July 2002
▶ play handball
to smoke crack cocaine US
A highly euphemistic code.- — Peter Johnson, Dictionary of Street Alcohol and Drug Terms, p. 147, 1993
▶ play hard to get
to resist amorous advances (especially while intending to acquiesce); hence, more generally, to be reluctant to comply with what is expected UK, 1945- For months, the Russians have been virtually pleading for the Ljubljana summit, while the Americans have been playing hard to get. — The Guardian, 14 June 2001
▶ play hookey; play hooky
to absent yourself from school or work US, 1848- I played hooky more and more often, spending my school hours in burlesque houses. — Jim Thompson, Bad Boy, p. 347, 1953
- [W]hen she was 14 or 13 maybe she’d play hookey from school in Oakland and take the ferry to Market Street[.] — Jack Kerouac, The Subterraneans, p. 56, 1958
- Some days we played hooky from school, leaving at lunch time with all the other older boys[.] — Bobby Seale, A Lonely Rage, p. 29, 1978
▶ play inside right
to be mean with money UK
Rhyming slang for TIGHTIs he playing inside right again today? — Ray Puxley, Fresh Rabbit, 1998▶ play it by ear
to improvise as circumstances dictate UK, 1984
As a musician picking up a tune without sheet music to guide.- “ He’s fuzz!” a sharper, older voice said from behind the spot. “Inspector Regan,” Jack said, playing it by ear. — The Sweeney, p. 13, 1976
- Clearly, Yahoo! is playing it by ear. It doesn’t want to alienate users or conservative forces, nor does it want to rule out forever a guaranteed moneyspinner. — The Guardian, 7 May 2001
▶ play it cool
to remain calm and composed UK, 1942- Hart plays it cool as black clouds gather. — The Guardian, 3 November 1999
▶ play mums and dads; play dads and mums
to have sex UK
An adult version of a children’s game. “Play fathers and mothers” is also recorded but in the strongest current usages it seems that the female comes first.- — John Gardner, Madrigal, 1967
- Let’s all play mums and dads, come on / Where do babies come from, mum? / Shut up you naughty boy / And put your clothes back on. — Hazel O’Connor, We’re All Grown-Up, 1981
▶ play past something
to overcome an obstacle or impediment to progress US- Thus, if someone attempts phony excuses one should “play past that shit” and find out the real reasons behind their actions. — Christina and Richard Milner, Black Players, p. 39, 1972
- He played it so good ‘til he played past the real New York finest a number of times to my knowledge. — A.S. Jackson, Gentleman Pimp, p. 130, 1973
- If anybody ask who you are, tell them it’s none of their motherfuckin business. Just play past that shit. — Terry Williams, The Cocaine Kids, p. 28, 1989
▶ play silly buggers
to be a nuisance; to cause trouble or disruption; to “mess about” UK- But if I played what he called “silly buggers", he could be very, very hard. Sadly my insinct was telling me that on this case I was going to be playing silly buggers. — Malcolm Pryce, Aberystwyth Mon Amour, p. 27, 2001
▶ play someone cheap
to assume that someone is stupid US- — Marcus Hanna Boulware, Jive and Slang of Students in Negro Colleges, 1947
▶ play the blocks
to idle on a street corner BAHAMAS- — John A. Holm, Dictionary of Bahamian English, p. 157, 1982
▶ play the chill- to act calm US, 1920
- Blue whispered, “Play the chill for him. Remember, son, he’s not bunco, he’s only robbery detail.” — Iceberg Slim (Robert Beck), Trick Baby, p. 13, 1969
- to snub someone US
- — M. Allen Henderson, How Con Games Work, p. 222, 1985: “Glossary”
▶ play the kerbs
to sell drugs on the street US- — Ellen C. Bellone (Editor), Dictionary of Slang, p. 18, 1989
▶ play the queens
to have sex with a passive, effeminate male prisoner US- — Inez Cardozo-Freeman, The Joint, p. 522, 1984
▶ play the whale
to vomit AUSTRALIA- Go on lady, play the whale, but I’ll bet youse a greenie [$1 note] it won’t look nothin’ like what youse had for lunch!!! — Barry Humphries, Bazza Pulls It Off!, 1971
▶ play them as they lay
used as a wisely humorous acceptance of the need to work with what has been given to you US- You gotta play ‘em as they lay, Luther. — A Few Good Men, 1992
▶ play too close
to take advantage of another’s good nature by excessive teasing or abuse US- — William K. Bentley and James M. Corbett, Prison Slang, p. 93, 1992
▶ play took and banjo
to sing or whistle a secular tune on a Sunday or religious holiday BARBADOS- — Barbadian Dialect, p. 15, 1965
▶ play up to someone
to humour someone; to flatter someone, to take your cue from another; to behave according to expectations UK, 1809
Originally in theatrical use.- The ailing pontiff–dressed in white robes and frail with Parkinson’s disease–has played up to his image as a chief dove in the Iraqi crisis[.] — The Guardian, 26 March 2003
▶ play with yourself
to masturbate IRELAND, 1922
The earliest usage recorded of this sweet little euphemism is by James Joyce.- He kept right on playing with himself, all through high school, in the face of certain insanity. — Larry McMurtry, The Last Picture Show, p. 165, 1966
- I was repeatedly warned from the nuns and priests that I hung around with that masturbation was wrong, that playing with myself would lead to cancer and warts. — Screw, p. 2, 29 November 1968
- FRANK: This is your bed. And you’re alone, right, and you’re playing with yourself. KRISTIN: I don’t play with myself. — Fred Baker, Events, p. 39, 1970
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