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Reader question:
In this headline – British men stay single longer to play the field – what
does "play the field" mean exactly?
My comments:
The first part of the sentence tells the story – they want to stay single
longer.
It doesn't mean they want to stay single and sulk, though. No, they want to
date a lot of women instead. They want to fool around. They just don't want to
get married and stuck with one woman.
Now definitions. The field is the playground, or as they say the field of
play in a sports game. Take the field as the whole field. That's a good way of
looking at it, I think. To play the whole field is, therefore, to play
everywhere and not get stuck, say, in one corner.
When British men want to stay single and play the field, they don't want to
get married. According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, to
play the field means to "have sexual relationships with a lot of people".
But obviously, people play the field in more areas than one. In business
for example, when a company wants to play the field before making a deal, it
wants to look around and explore a lot instead of rushing into a deal with the
first possible partner. Hence, to play the field means to "avoid exclusive
attachment to one person or activity". That's a definition given by to the
Oxford dictionary, and a very apt one it is too.
Now, let's use some real examples to firm up the impression. Explanations
that follow each example are mine.
1. Paul McCartney 'Playing the Field' - Trans World News, April 6,
2008.
In other words, the former Beetle is not pining to get married again.
2. Yahoo still looking to play the field - Shanghai Daily, February 20,
2008.
Like many a pretty girl, Yahoo plays hard to get.
3. Paris Hilton returns to play the field - MSNBC, March 23, 2006.
Paris is back on the block. 'Nough said. |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:47:54