Quote
1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.
“I hated those series where the children were brighter than the parents, and those parents had to play dumb.”
- Bill Cosby on The Cosby Show (Us Weekly)
Definition
1. Definition - Study the definition.
pretend like you don’t know something that you do know
2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.
You’re out on a first date, and your date is excited to tell you about an article he or she just read about astrophysics. Not only is he or she really excited to tell you about the information, but you can tell that your date really enjoys impressing you with the knowledge. The only problem is that you actually have a degree in astrophysics. So what do you do: do you tell your date that you already know all about it, or do you play dumb?
People often play dumb to make someone they’re with feel smarter. Or, sometimes you might play dumb if you caused some trouble and wanted to pretend you didn’t know what had happened. For example, if you broke a bowl and your mother came in and asked who did it, you might say, “I don’t know. Who could have done that?” If you do that, you’d be playing dumb.
People sometimes also play dumb for laughs. Actor and comedian Bill Cosby was sick of TV shows where the kids acted smarter than the parents, just to make a joke. He created The Cosby Show as a realistic scenario where adults act like adults, and kids like kids.
Have you ever played dumb? Do you ever think it’s a good idea to act less smart than you are?
Examples
1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.
“The police asked where the criminals went, but their friends played dumb and said they didn’t know.”
“She’s really smart, but she thinks guys won’t like her if they know that, so she plays dumb.”
“When she asked if I knew it was her birthday, I played dumb. I didn’t want to let her know I was planning a surprise party.”