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
Disappointed, I realized who it was but I still felt the need to play it cool.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2023
“I was trying to kind of play it cool and then I saw him and I was like, ‘I can’t play it cool.’”
From Seattle Times • Apr. 30, 2023
But British officials are keen to play it cool on the EPC, insisting they will walk away if it evolves in an undesirable direction.
From BBC • Oct. 5, 2022
I asked her, trying to play it cool.
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
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.
