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Glite Dictionary
🤝 To be honest 🎭 To hide sexuality
to play it straight

to play it straight

8.8
To act as if you are attracted to the opposite sex to hide your true sexual feelings
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : actuar como heterosexual
  • Either I'm an artist or I'm just some cheap drag queen playing it straight so he can get laughs.

Examples

  • It can be challenging for some to play it straight in a conservative environment where being authentic feels risky.

  • 'Cause you're playing it straight.

    Keeping the Faith (2000)

  • In the interview, he decided to play it straight about his relationship status, avoiding any mention of his partner.

  • Many celebrities choose to play it straight to avoid backlash from fans who may not accept their true identities.

Antonyms

to come out of the closet
26 7.1

To tell people you are gay, lesbian, or bisexual

How Open

to come out
217 6.5
to play it straight
8.8

Surface Forms

play it straight infinitive
played it straight past
played it straight past participle
playing it straight present participle
plays it straight third person singular

Morphology

play + it + straight

The meaning is directly derivable from 'play' (to act or feign) + 'straight' (heterosexual): together they convey 'act/pretend to be straight', while 'it' functions as a filler/dummy pronoun. This verb + adjective composition follows a transparent pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings would likely infer the intended sense.

Etymology

Play it straight grew from the use of the word 'straight' for someone who is 'not gay'. So, to play it straight means to act like you are 'straight' and hide that you are gay.