play the game
English
Verb
play the game (third-person singular simple present plays the game, present participle playing the game, simple past and past participle played the game)
- To behave fairly; to abide by the rules.
- Synonym: play by the rules
- 1892, Henry Newbolt, Vitaï Lampada
- And it's not for the sake of a ribboned coat, / Or the selfish hope of a season's fame, / But his captain's hand on his shoulder smote / "Play up! play up! and play the game!"
Translations
behave fairly
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See also
- play ball
Further reading
- “play the game”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- “play the game” in the Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- “play the game” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
- “play the game”, in Collins English Dictionary.