play for time en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) To delay a situation until one is prepared.
Two cheers for that, at best. The original six party talks ran, or rather crawled, from 2003 to 2008. It remains unclear if North Korea was ever serious – or just playing for time while working on HEU.
29 February 2012, Aidan Foster-Carter, BBC News, “North Korea: The denuclearisation dance resumes”
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| playing for time | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| plays for time | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| played for time | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| played for time | Tense=Past | lexicographic |
Synonyms
Translations (6)
fr jouer la montre (to delay until one is prepared) · fi pelata aikaa (to delay until one is prepared) · hu húzza az időt (to delay until one is prepared) · ru выи́грывать вре́мя (to delay until one is prepared) · ru тяну́ть вре́мя (to delay until one is prepared) · de Zeit schinden (to delay until one is prepared)