play off (English, verb)
expansion: play off (third-person singular simple present plays off, present participle playing off, simple past and past participle played off)
Senses:
glosses: To portray (something) (as unimportant); to dismiss or make light of (a factor in a situation, or one's embarrassment about it); to pretend not to be embarrassed, upset, impressed, or otherwise affected by (it).
tags: often
transitive
raw_tags: with as
glosses: To set (other people) against one another: to induce competition between them, especially in a covert way so that they do not realize the degree to which they have been played (manipulated).
tags: transitive
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To compete in a play-off; to compete against (an opponent) in a play-off.
tags: intransitive
transitive
glosses: To display; to show; to put in exercise.
tags: dated
transitive
Forms:
form: plays off
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: playing off
tags: participle
present
form: played off
tags: participle
past
form: played off
tags: past