play dumb
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English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb[edit]
play dumb (third-person singular simple present plays dumb, present participle playing dumb, simple past and past participle played dumb)
- (idiomatic, informal) To pretend to be dumb, either:
- To feign muteness.
- 1904, Rex Ellingwood Beach, “The Mule Driver and the Garrulous Mute”, in Pardners:
- I played dumb 'cause I knew if I talked at all, being simple and guileless, you all would twist me up and have the whole thing in a jiffy.
- To feign stupidity or ignorance of some knowledge, usually in order to avoid responsibility or gain some advantage.
- Synonym: play stupid
- 1966 April 1, “Milestones”, in Time:
- Died. Virginia Hill, 49, redheaded, free-spending playmate of the underworld... who later acted out a cameo role before the late Senator Estes Kefauver's Senate crime committee, playing dumb about the business dealings of her many racketeer friends.
- 2006 Sept. 17, David Mills, "Soft Eyes", The Wire, 00:35:20:
- Valchek: Kid, careers have been launched on a helluvalot less. Just... shut up and play dumb.
Hauk: I can do that, no problem.
- Valchek: Kid, careers have been launched on a helluvalot less. Just... shut up and play dumb.
- To feign muteness.
Translations[edit]
to pretend to be mute
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to pretend to be slow-witted
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