Dictionary

play dumb en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, informal) To pretend to be dumb, either: ▸ To feign muteness.
   • 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. 1904, Rex Ellingwood Beach, “The Mule Driver and the Garrulous Mute”, in Pardners:
2. (idiomatic, informal) To pretend to be dumb, either: ▸ To feign stupidity or ignorance of some knowledge, usually in order to avoid responsibility or gain some advantage.
   • 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. 1966 April 1, “Milestones”, in TIME, archived from the original on 12 May 2009:
   • Valchek: Kid, careers have been launched on a helluvalot less. Just... shut up and play dumb. Hauk: I can do that, no problem. 2006 Sept. 17, David Mills, "Soft Eyes", The Wire, 00:35:20

Forms

Synonyms

play stupid

Translations (36)

es hacerse el sueco (to pretend to be slow-witted) · sv spela dum (to pretend to be slow-witted) · fi esittää tyhmää (to pretend to be slow-witted) · it fare l'innocente (to pretend to be slow-witted) · th ทำไก๋ (to pretend to be slow-witted) · de (einen) auf dumm machen (to pretend to be slow-witted) · es desentenderse (to pretend to be slow-witted) · ru приду́риваться (to pretend to be slow-witted) · ro face pe prostul (to pretend to be slow-witted) · pl udawać Greka (to pretend to be slow-witted) · de Stummheit vortäuschen (to pretend to be mute) · es hacerse el que la virgen le habla (to pretend to be slow-witted) · ca fer el desentès (to pretend to be slow-witted) · es sota (to pretend to be slow-witted) · haw hoʻonaʻaupō (to pretend to be slow-witted) · pt fazer-se de tonto (to pretend to be slow-witted) · es hacerse el oso (to pretend to be slow-witted) · it fare il finto tonto (to pretend to be slow-witted) · tl magmaang-maangan (to pretend to be slow-witted) · es hacerse el tonto (to pretend to be slow-witted) · it fare lo gnorri (to pretend to be slow-witted) · ca fer l'orni (to pretend to be slow-witted) · th ทำเป็นไขสือ (to pretend to be slow-witted) · es hacerse el chancho rengo (to pretend to be slow-witted) · nl van den domme houden (to pretend to be slow-witted) · pl udawać niemego (to pretend to be mute) · de sich dumm stellen (to pretend to be slow-witted) · es hacerse el longuis (to pretend to be slow-witted) · fr faire l'innocent (to pretend to be slow-witted) · mk се прави наудрен (to pretend to be slow-witted) · pl udać Greka (to pretend to be slow-witted) · de vorgeben stumm zu sein (to pretend to be mute) · es hacerse el/la de las gafas (to pretend to be slow-witted) · tl magbingi-bingihan (to pretend to be mute) · es hacerse el longui (to pretend to be slow-witted) · fi esittää mykkää (to pretend to be mute)