play it cool
Idioms-
Act cautiously and shrewdly, as in When they asked how much she earned, she played it cool . [ Slang ; 1940s]
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Become or remain calm, as in When they start to tease you, just play it cool . [ Slang ; 1940s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Going into it Taylor and Travis’s, are you mindful of, like, let’s play it cool?
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025
Maybe they’ll play it cool, keeping things close to the vest to try and hold on to a competitive advantage.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 20, 2023
Asked if she'll say Hello when she meets Adele next weekend, Ruti says she is going to play it cool.
From BBC • Jun. 24, 2022
How do you play it cool with that?
From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2022
Of course, I couldn’t play it cool either as I turned to Gregor for his answer, hoping against hope he didn’t.
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
