play off
第三人称
plays off
现在进行时
playing off
过去式
played off
过去完成时
played off
1
假装不受影响, 掩饰
to pretend not to be affected by a certain emotion or reaction
- She tried to play off her disappointment when she didn't win the award.
当她没有获奖时，她试图掩饰自己的失望。
- The comedian's joke didn't land, but he played it off by making fun of his own joke.
喜剧演员的笑话没有奏效，但他通过嘲笑自己的笑话来化解了。
- She played it off when she tripped on stage, acting as if it was part of her performance.
她在舞台上绊倒时装作若无其事，表现得好像是表演的一部分。
- When his proposal was rejected, he played it off and said he had other plans anyway.
当他的提议被拒绝时，他假装不在意，并说他反正还有其他计划。
- She was clearly hurt by the comment, but she played off as if it didn't matter.
她显然被这句话伤害了，但她假装这并不重要。
2
使对抗, 让竞争
to set people or teams against each other in competition or rivalry for one's own advantage
- The coach will play the two best players off to determine who gets the starting position.
教练将让两名最佳球员对决以决定谁获得首发位置。
- After the initial rounds, they decided to play the finalists off next Saturday.
在最初的几轮比赛之后，他们决定在下周六让决赛选手对决。
- The tournament will play the top two teams off against each other for the championship title.
锦标赛将让前两支球队进行季后赛以争夺冠军头衔。
- The debate team coach sometimes plays off team members against one another during practice sessions to sharpen their arguments.
辩论队的教练有时会在练习中让队员互相竞争，以磨砺他们的论辩技巧。
- The manager would sometimes play off team members against one another to see who came up with the best ideas under pressure.
经理有时会挑拨团队成员相互对抗，看看谁在压力下能想出最好的主意。
3
进行加赛, 打附加赛
to compete in an extra game to decide the winner of a tied competition
- Because they had the same points at the end of the season, the teams had to play it off to see who would advance.
因为他们在赛季结束时积分相同，球队不得不进行附加赛来决定谁将晋级。
- The two teams will play off on Saturday to decide the league champion.
两支球队将在周六进行附加赛以决定联赛冠军。
- If we tie with the rival school, we will play off for the top spot.
如果我们与对手学校打成平手，我们将加赛争夺第一名。
- We can't decide the winner yet; they'll play the final off tomorrow.
我们还不能决定获胜者；他们明天将进行附加赛。
- To break the tie, they'll play off for the trophy.
为了打破平局，他们将进行附加赛争夺奖杯。