play along

British  

verb

1. to cooperate (with), esp as a temporary measure

2. (tr) to manipulate as if in a game, esp for one's own advantage

   he played the widow along until she gave him her money

---

play along Idioms  

1. Cooperate or pretend to cooperate, as in They decided to play along with the robbers, at least for a while. [Colloquial; 1920s]

---

Example Sentences

As a teenager, he thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if the player piano could play along with a silent movie?”

From Los Angeles Times

Business leaders who play along with Beijing call to mind author Upton Sinclair’s observation that “it is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The Trojans are 5-1 in a new era where even two-loss teams can qualify and, OK, just play along here for a sec.

From Los Angeles Times

Colbert started playing along by unbuttoning his blazer and saying “f— that” to a signal that he only had a minute left in the segment.

From Los Angeles Times

I decided to play along with Syndicate after taking advice from a senior BBC editor.

From BBC