Expressions used in Everyday Spoken English in Social and Professional contexts
play up
play up
1) to exaggerate something to make it seem more important or severe than it really is
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- play up your injury so the doctor will see you faster
- AnalysisWhen you 'play something up', you exaggerate something so it seems more important or urgent than it really is. You might play something up to receive attention or to highlight a problem. This is a casual expression often used in informal situations and is the opposite of 'to downplay'.
- Social Examples (Basic)
- I don't mean to play up the problem, but I'm in severe pain here.
- The footballer played up his injuries to the referee.
- Professional Examples (Advance)
- The candidate played up his Jewish heritage in order to win votes in the election.
- If we play up this issue to the town council, we might be able to convince them to grant us some funding.
- Further Suggestions
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