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play the market

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Trade in securities in order to make money, as in He is always playing the market with only mixed results. This term uses play in the sense of “gamble,” a usage dating from about 1500.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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