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No man is so much a fool as not to have wit enough sometimes to be a knave; nor any so cunning a knave as not to have the weakness sometimes to play the fool.
George Savile

Meaning of "play the fool" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF PLAY THE FOOL

play the fool play
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WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE PLAY THE FOOL

play on words
play one´s ace
play one´s cards
play out
play park
play possum
play reading
play safe
play second fiddle
play silly buggers
play the devil with
play the field
play the game
play the market
play the race card
play to the gallery
play up
play up to
play with
play with fire

WORDS THAT END LIKE PLAY THE FOOL

April fool
befool
cool
damfool
damn fool
elementary school
fool
form the fool
high school
Liverpool
middle school
no fool
outfool
pool
preschool
school
swimming pool
tomfool
tool
unfool

Synonyms and antonyms of play the fool in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «play the fool» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF PLAY THE FOOL

Find out the translation of play the fool to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of play the fool from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «play the fool» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

装傻
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

el tonto
570 millions of speakers

English

play the fool
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

मूर्ख खेलने
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

لعب أحمق
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

играть в дурака
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

jogar o tolo
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

বোকা খেলা
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

faire l´imbécile
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Bermain bodoh
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

spielen die Narren
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

おどける
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

바보 재생
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Muter wong gemblung
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

chơi đánh lừa
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

முட்டாள் விளையாட
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

मूर्ख खेळू नका
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

aptalı oyna
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

il matto
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

błaznować
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

грати в дурня
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

pe prostul
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

παίξει ο ανόητος
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

speel die fool
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

spela idiot
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

spille dum
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of play the fool

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «PLAY THE FOOL»

The term «play the fool» is quite widely used and occupies the 24.476 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Quite widely used
89
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «play the fool» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of play the fool
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «play the fool».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «PLAY THE FOOL» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «play the fool» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «play the fool» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about play the fool

EXAMPLES

QUOTES WITH «PLAY THE FOOL»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word play the fool.
1
George Savile
No man is so much a fool as not to have wit enough sometimes to be a knave; nor any so cunning a knave as not to have the weakness sometimes to play the fool.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «PLAY THE FOOL»

Discover the use of play the fool in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to play the fool and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
To Play the Fool: A Novel
Trying to learn something of his history leads her along a twisting road to a disbanded cult, long buried secrets, the thirst for spirituality, and the hunger for bloody vengeance. - 2014 is the twentieth anniversary of King's bestselling ...
Laurie R. King, 2014
2
To Play the Fool: A Novel
Celebrated author Laurie R. King dazzles mystery lovers once again in this, her second Kate Martinelli mystery. The story unfolds as a band of homeless people cremate a beloved dog in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
Laurie R. King, 2010
3
The Fool's Girl
Celia Rees. 'This fellow is wise enough to play the fool'. Violetta. stood up and began pacing the small room. Recounting the story had made her restless, agitated, reminding her of how far they were from their purpose. 'That's the reason we ...
Celia Rees, 2010
4
Preaching the Calendar: Celebrating Holidays and Holy Days
We play the fool when we sacrifice love in order to get money or power or prestige. Parents play the fool when they realize, after their children are grown and gone, that they've missed one of the greatest gifts this planet offers: the chance to ...
J. Ellsworth Kalas, 2004
5
David: A Man of Passion and Destiny
J. Sidlow Baxter describes what it means to play the fool. A man plays the fool when he neglects his godly friends, as Saul ne- glected Samuel. A man plays the fool when he goes on enterprises for God before God has sent him, as Saul did.
Charles Swindoll, 1997
6
Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies
Crafty Greek protags like Ulysses often play the fool. Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream delights us with hijinks and wisdom. And the “jester” is a stock character in the King's court. These are heroes famous for come-from- behind victories, ...
Blake Snyder, 2007
7
Shakespeare on Management: Leadership Lessons for Today's ...
Yet throughout the play the Fool provides truths to the beleaguered king. Earlier in the first act he chose to teach the king a lesson based upon riddles: Have more than thou showest, Speak less than thou knowest, Lend less than thou owest, ...
Paul Corrigan, 1999
8
Dictionary of Literary Themes and Motifs
In country festivals that date from early Christian times (and some no doubt even from pre-Christian cultures), fools often played a part; in fact a( festival time there was license for the general population to play the fool. As these practices ...
Jean-Charles Seigneuret, 1988
9
Michael Le Souffl? and the April Fool
But then the joke's on Michael when a rooster posts a new law, signed by the king, that will change the town and the mayor's behavior forever, creating a celebration that gives everyone the chance to play the fool. Populated by a menagerie of ...
Welling, Peter J.
10
Eating as I Go: Scenes from America and Abroad
“I've been watching you play the fool,” I tell Justice, “and I know you're a smart fool.” He's like King Lear's fool, I tell him, inventing the role and himself. “ Yesterday, when I questioned your grade on the test, it didn't occur to me that the smart fool ...
Doris Friedensohn, 2006

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «PLAY THE FOOL»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term play the fool is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Orville Taylor: Lessons from Gold Cup - emancipate our selves
However, let us not play the fool; Jamaica has every reason to consider ourselves the sprint capital of the world. Importantly, America's media ... «Jamaica Gleaner, Jul 15»
2
Lessons from Gold Cup - emancipate our selves
However, let us not play the fool; Jamaica has every reason to consider ourselves the sprint capital of the world. Importantly, America's media ... «Jamaica Gleaner, Jul 15»
3
Saints Prove They Don't Want Any B.S. In Their House
... that I've said repeatedly about Galette was that instead of wanting to play football, all Junior Galette wanted to do is play the fool — especially ... «Big Easy Believer, Jul 15»
4
EFCC, Big Man Syndrome and Anti-Corruption Fight
Where they were allowed to do their job, they could be quite effective. They could also play the fool, where and when they know they will not get ... «AllAfrica.com, Jul 15»
5
Nach Baliye 7: Ajay Devgn rags Chetan Bhagat at the grand finale …
Of course Marzi also got ragged by Ajay, who makes it his mission to play the fool with the cast and crew Nach Baliye 7. Of course you won't ... «Bollywood Life, Jul 15»
6
Silent star set for Deco days
"I wanted to do a character and, with Charlie, I was able to do that as I suited him and got to be able to play the fool." Through the years, he has ... «New Zealand Herald, Jul 15»
7
When Laker skittled the Aussies
"What lies in store for Test cricket if groundsmen are allowed to play the fool like this?" Flack was forced to take the criticism in silence. Australia ... «ESPNcricinfo.com, Jul 15»
8
Cara Delevingne Interview at Paper Towns Sydney Premiere
Expressive beyond belief, funny, charismatic, happy to play the fool and pull a face, she's happiest in a big crowd of people (which she can ... «PopSugar Australia, Jul 15»
9
The Prancing Elites dance their way to happiness
But Clemons doesn't always play the fool. In one episode, he tries to persuade his mother to attend a competition the Elites have arranged, ... «Bend Bulletin, Jul 15»
10
The Prancing Elites Dance Their Way Up
But Mr. Clemons doesn't always play the fool. In one episode, he tries to persuade his mother to attend a competition the Elites have arranged, ... «New York Times, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Play the fool [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/play-the-fool>. Apr 2024 ».
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