play the field en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
- (UK) To cut one's losses by betting on every racehorse other than the crowd favorite.
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(idiomatic) To have numerous romantic partners, without or before committing exclusively to one.
But ostriches in breeding season are relentlessly promiscuous, with both males and females seeking liaisons with multiple partners. No doubt they have their reasons. But from an evolutionary perspective, playing the field is a way to get diverse DNA into as many nests as possible and compensate for the fact that most nests fail.
2020 August 4, Richard Conniff, “They may look goofy, but ostriches are nobody’s fool”, in National Geographic Magazine:I know you got charm and appeal / You always play the field / I'm crazy to think you're all mine
1980, Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers, “Upside Down”, in Diana, performed by Diana Ross:He says I'm the only one, but my friends say he's playing the field.
In a world where you can get a sexual partner faster than a pizza delivery, it has never been easier to play the field.
2020 January 28, Lizzie Cernik, “The power of celibacy: ‘Giving up sex was a massive relief’”, in The Guardian:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| playing the field | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| played the field | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| played the field | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| plays the field | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Translations (7)
cmn 腳踏兩條船 /脚踏两条船 (to date more than one person) · cmn 拈花惹草 (to date more than one person) · fi pyörittää useampaa naista kerralla (to date more than one person) · sv köra två spår, köra dubbelspårigt (to date more than one person) · it tenere il piede in due scarpe (to date more than one person) · de nichts anbrennen lassen (to date more than one person) · de zweigleisig fahren (to date more than one person)