keep house
play house
To live together without being married.
Bob and Nancy keep house these days.
make a play for
To try to get the interest or liking of; flirt with; attract.
Bob made a play for the pretty new girl.
John made a play for the other boys' votes for class president.
play a part in
To be instrumental in; have a role in; be concerned with.
Some First Ladies play a greater part in political life than others.
play a waiting game
To withhold action until one's chances for success improve.
Ждать подходящего момента не предпринимая никаких действий.
Ray would like to be vice president of the company so he is playing a waiting game in the hope that the president will soon recognize his abilities.
The cat kept its eyes on the bird, carefully playing a waiting game.
Кошка не сводила глаз с птицы, осторожно выжидая удобного момента.
play along
play along with
Cooperate; make no trouble.
The honest jockey refused to play along with the bookmaker's illegal plan.
play ball
To begin play in a ball game.
When the umpire calls "Play ball," the game begins.
To join in an effort with others; cooperate.
Объединиться для совместных действий; взаимодействовать.
To get along during Prohibition, many men felt that they had to play ball with gangsters.
A is often good business to play ball with a political machine.
I am not going to play ball with you since your project is a mere fraud.
Я не собираюсь сотрудничать с вами, так как ваш проект это явное мошенничество.
play both ends
Играть на противоположных интересах.
He is trying to play both ends against the centre.
Он пытается играть на противоположных интересах.
play by ear
To play a musical instrument by remembering the tune, not by reading music.
Mary does not know how to read music. She plays the piano by ear.
Joe doesn't need any music sheets when he plays his guitar; he knows many songs well and can play them by ear.
That pianist can play most popular music by ear. She never needs to read sheet music.
To decide what to do as you go along; to fit the situation. Used with it.
John decided to play it by ear when he went for his interview.
It was her first job and she didn't know what to expect, so we had to play it by ear.
My husband wanted to plan our trip carefully, but I argued that it was more fun if we played it by ear.