play up Idiom, Proverb
play up
call attention to, emphasize During the job interview he played up his experience as an experienced computer operator.
play up to someone
flatter or please someone to try and gain some advantage He is always playing up to his boss so he can leave work early.
play up to
flatter讨好
He is always playing up to the pretty girl students.他总是向那些长得漂亮的女学生献殷勤。
He always plays up to his political boss.他总是对他的政界上司献媚。
He is the sort of man who dislikes being played up to.他是那种不愿被奉承的人。
play on|play|play upon
v. 1. To cause an effect on; influence.
A heavy diet of television drama played on his feelings. 2. To work upon for a planned effect; excite to a desired action by cunning plans; manage.
The makeup salesman played on the woman's wish to look beautiful. In some places, leaders play upon people's superstitious fears. He played on the man's ambition and love of honor.
play up|play
v. To call attention to; talk more about; emphasize.
The coach played up the possibilities, and kept our minds off our weaknesses. The director played up the woman's glamor to conceal her lack of acting ability.
play up to|play|play up
v. phr..
slang 1. To try to gain the favor of, especially for selfish reasons; act to win the approval of; try to please.
He played up to the boss. 2. To use (something) to gain an end; to attend to (a weakness).
He played up to the old lady's vanity to get her support.
play upon
play upon see
play on.
play up
To emphasize, exaggerate, or bolster the accent or remarkability of something, conceivably while or as a agency of blank or downplaying added things. A noun or pronoun can be acclimated amid "play" and "up." Everyone plays the blur up as this timeless, absolute classic, but I've consistently anticipation it to aloof be a ambagious mess. Naturally, the government is arena up the allowances the arena has apparent back their involvement, declining to acknowledgment the massive numbers of noncombatant casualties that resulted from the effort.Learn more: play, upplay someone or something up
to accomplish addition or article assume to be added important. The administrator approved to comedy Ann up, but she was not absolutely a star. Try to comedy up the acceptable qualities of our product.Learn more: play, upplay something up
to accent something; to be a booster of something. The columnist played the aspersion up so abundant that anybody became apathetic with it. They absolutely played up the scandal.Learn more: play, upplay up
Emphasize or publicize, as in In the columnist interview, the drillmaster played up the accent of accepting a able defense. [c. 1900] Also see play down; play up to. Learn more: play, upplay up
v. To accent article or the accent of article in adjustment to accomplish a bigger impression: The bi-weekly played up the aspersion in adjustment to accelerate its readers. Your acquaintance with computers is your arch qualification, so be abiding to comedy that up in the interview.
Learn more: play, up