play up

Definition

Verb (phrasal verb):
- To ingratiate oneself to someone, often with insincere behavior: To try to gain favor or approval from someone by using flattery or exaggerated attention.
- To move something into the foreground to make it more visible or prominent: To emphasize, highlight, or draw attention to something.

Usage and Examples

Verb (ingratiate):
- He always plays up to the boss before annual reviews.
- The student played up to the teacher in hopes of getting a better grade.
Verb (emphasize/highlight):
- The advertisement plays up the car's safety features.
- In his speech, he played up his experience in the field.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

"play up" vs. "play down": "Play up" is the antonym of "play down" (to minimize or make something seem less important).
- The company played up its successes but played down its financial losses.
British Informal Usage (of a machine or part of the body): To cause problems or not work properly. (Note: This is a distinct, common meaning but was not in the provided reference.)
- My knee has been playing up since I went running.
- The printer is playing up again; we need to call IT.

Variants and Related Words

Play up to (someone): A more specific form of the ingratiating meaning.
- He's just playing up to the director because he wants the lead role.
Play up one's strengths: A common collocation for the "emphasize" meaning.
- During the interview, remember to play up your strengths.

Synonyms

Related Phrasal Verbs

Play down: To make something seem less important or serious.
- The government tried to play down the scale of the crisis.
Play along: To pretend to agree or cooperate.
- I decided to play along with their silly game.

Idioms and Common Phrases

Play up to the gallery: To act in a way intended to win popular approval rather than to be sincere. (Related to the "ingratiate" meaning but with a public audience).
- Some politicians are accused of playing up to the gallery with simplistic promises.

Verb

ingratiate oneself to; often with insincere behavior
- She is playing up to the chairman
move into the foreground to make more visible or prominent
- The introduction highlighted the speaker's distinguished career in linguistics

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