Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
play the same tape en · VERB
Pronunciation
Meanings
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(idiomatic) To repeat exactly what one previously said or did.
I married a man much like my controlling stepfather. We tend to play the same tape until we see who we are.
2002, Mary Virginia Hall, Loving Is a Gift, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 17:All they do in church is play the same tape over and over. I could recite that stuff by heart.
2007, Gary Chapman, Catherine Palmer, It Happens Every Spring, Tyndale House, →ISBN, page 54:2001 August 29, Matthew Jukes, "A German gem", The Daily Telegraph, available,
There are things some people might wish to alter about [the restaurant] Die Jägerhütte (for myself, they could play the same tape for months and I still wouldn't slap a thigh).
We met a staff member, Pat, from Senator Dole's office first.... We had our message clear and crisp. We gave a couple of examples... . We indicated... . We talked about... . We thanked Pat and, as we walked to Senator Burr's office, congratulated each other... . We had a very good meeting with John from Senator Burr's office and played the same tape from our earlier meeting.
2008 January, Sastry G. Pantula, “My Trip to the Hill”, in Notices of the American Mathematical Society, volume 55, number 1, page 56:
Forms