| 释义 |
▪ I. ˈunderplay, n.
[under-1 9.]
1. An underlying or hidden motion or action.
1845J. Martineau Ess. (1890) I. 63 The under-play of a living enthusiasm beneath the dry matter of the composition. 1862R. Vaughan Eng. Nonconformity 224 The king was a party to this underplay.
2. Card-playing. (See quot. 1863.)
1850Bohn's Handbk. Games 21. 1863 ‘Cavendish’ Whist (ed. 5) 42 Underplay is keeping up the winning card, generally in the second round of a suit, by leading a low card, though holding the best.
▪ II. ˌunderˈplay, v.
[under-1 8 b, 10 a.]
1. refl. To play below one's ability.
1733Ld. Harvey in Craftsman No. 376, No person is ever known to flatter at this game [sc. chess], by underplaying himself.
2. intr. To play a low card, though holding a high one of the same suit, in hope of later advantage. (Also used trans.)
1850Bohn's Handbk. Games 21 To underplay, he wins the trick with the ace, and returns the small one. 1863‘Cavendish’ Whist (ed. 5) 42 Experienced players frequently endeavour to obtain the entire command of their suit by underplaying.
3. Theatr. To underact (a part); to perform with deliberate restraint. Also fig.
a. intr.
1896G. B. Shaw Let. 16 Mar. (1965) I. 612 Waring..will not exactly fail: he will only underplay, and all the papers will treat him with great politeness. 1962Movie Dec. 10/2 In Dawn Patrol we underplayed, dispensing with the emoting and ham-acting. 1975New Yorker 17 Nov. 159/1 Tiant..did not have full command of his breaking stuff and was forced to underplay.
b. trans.
1897[see routine v.]. 1941B. Schulberg What makes Sammy Run? xi. 208 He came in quietly, under⁓playing the scene. 1976Daily Tel. 11 Aug. 9/8 Whatever happened..to the amazing gift Mr Williams showed here for underplaying his lines?.. In the Hancock world..he let the character..speak.
4. fig. To play down the importance of (something); to present less emphatically than usual.
1949M. Mead Male & Female v. 124 So among the Arapesh the six-year-olds are treated gently, their sex underplayed. 1965New Statesman 16 Apr. 599/3 They slowly start approaching the peasants, buying provisions at high prices and..underplaying their communist identity. 1973C. Bonington Next Horizon iii. 60 The others had tried to underplay my narrow escape, but she had heard them talk about it amongst themselves. 1980Amer. Speech LV. 120 Scargill's book underplays, to some extent, the influence of America on Canadian English. 1983R. Scruton Aesthetic Imagination ii. 15 The point of under-playing intention is to insist on the public character of the aesthetic object.
Hence underˈplayed ppl. a., underˈplaying vbl. n.
1896G. B. Shaw Let. 16 Mar. (1965) I. 612 XYZ's underplaying will not hurt Janet. 1951T. Sterling House without Door iii. 26 It was not much different from any other bar..but it had a kind of underplayed elegance which he liked. 1962Listener 13 Dec. 1025/1 Kenneth More's easy underplaying adapts to the television screen much better than one might have thought. 1973J. J. McKelvey Man against Tsetse ii. 83 Davies' analysis of the controversy stressed the underplayed contributions of Nabarro and Baker. |