play for time

play for time
STALL, temporize, delay, hold back, hang fire, procrastinate, drag one's feet.
→ play

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play for time
To delay action or decision in the hope or belief that conditions will become more favourable later
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Main Entry: ↑play

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play for time phrase
to deliberately delay doing something, or to do it more slowly than usual, so that you have more time to decide what to do

‘I just have to make a phone call first,’ she said, playing for time.

Thesaurus: to delay action, wait or hesitatesynonym
Main entry: play

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use specious excuses or unnecessary maneuvers to gain time

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play for time
: to try to make something happen later instead of sooner : to try to delay something

They're just playing for time, hoping that the situation will resolve itself.

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Main Entry: ↑play
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play for time — see ↑play, 1
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Main Entry: ↑time

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • play for time — If you play for time, you delay something because because you are not ready or need more time to thing about it.  Eg. I knew I had to play for time until the police arrived …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • play for time — ► play for time use excuses or unnecessary manoeuvres to gain time. Main Entry: ↑play …   English terms dictionary

  • play for time — index procrastinate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • play for time —    If you play for time, you try to delay or prevent something from happening in order to gain an advantage.     He decided to play for time in the hope that the price would decrease …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • play for time — to try to delay something so that you have more time to prepare for it. We can t sign the agreement yet we ll have to play for time …   New idioms dictionary

  • play for time — to deliberately delay doing something, or to do it more slowly than usual, so that you have more time to decide what to do I just have to make a phone call first, she said, playing for time …   English dictionary

  • play for time — Nesmith s opponents accused him of playing for time in order to pull an election year coup Syn: stall, temporize, delay, hold back, hang fire, procrastinate, drag one s feet …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • play for time — use specious excuses or unnecessary manoeuvres to gain time. → play …   English new terms dictionary

  • play for time — attempt to gain extra time …   English contemporary dictionary

  • play for time —  Avoid committing oneself so as to gain time …   A concise dictionary of English slang

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