to play the whiner
- idiom
- Offensive
:
hacerse el quejica
- Whenever the meeting doesn't go his way, he always plays the whiner instead of offering solutions.
Examples
-
When faced with challenges, he often plays the whiner to gain the sympathy of his friends.
-
She tried not to play the whiner, but the long hours really wore her down.
-
It's hard to respect someone who constantly plays the whiner at work.
-
Don't play the whiner!
-
Stop playing the whiner!
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It's difficult to support someone who always plays the whiner instead of taking action.
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She tends to play the whiner during group projects, avoiding her share of the work.
Synonyms
211
2.8
To complain in a high, annoying voice
8
9.6
To complain a lot in an annoying way
5
8.1
To complain in an annoying way about small things
4
9.9
To complain a lot about small things and annoy others
1
8.5
To pretend to be treated unfairly to get sympathy or avoid blame
1
6.4
To complain in a bad-tempered way
1
8.7
Complain a lot in a dramatic way about something that upsets you
To complain in a sad, self-pitying way about small problems
To complain in a sulky, childish way about small things
Antonyms
How Whiny
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from 'play' (to act or feign) plus 'whiner' (someone who complains), with 'the' forming the role noun phrase 'the whiner'. The pattern 'play the X' = 'act as X' is a common, compositional construction and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Play the whiner comes from the image of a person pretending to play the part of a whiner, like an actor acting a sad role to get attention. That's why it means to behave like someone who always complains to 'get sympathy' or 'avoid responsibility'.