play the field

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

play the field (third-person singular simple present plays the field, present participle playing the field, simple past and past participle played the field)

1. (UK, horseracing) To cut one's losses by betting on every racehorse other than the crowd favorite.
2. (idiomatic) To have numerous romantic partners, without or before committing exclusively to one.

   He says I'm the only one, but my friends say he's playing the field.

   • 1980, Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers (lyrics and music), “Upside Down”, in Diana, performed by Diana Ross:

     I know you got charm and appeal / You always play the field / I'm crazy to think you're all mine

   • 2020 January 28, Lizzie Cernik, “The power of celibacy: ‘Giving up sex was a massive relief’”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     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 August 4, Richard Conniff, “They may look goofy, but ostriches are nobody’s fool”, in National Geographic Magazine‎^[2]:

     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.

Translations

to date more than one person

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• Finnish: pyörittää useampaa naista kerralla
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• German: nichts anbrennen lassen (de) (literally “not to let anything get burnt”); (less common; only of exactly two partners) zweigleisig fahren (literally “to drive on two [railway] tracks”)
• Italian: tenere il piede in due scarpe (literally “to have a foot in two shoes”)
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• Swedish: köra två spår, köra dubbelspårigt