1. play dirty 使用不道德非法手段；藏奸耍滑；诈骗
2. play for deeps 不讲情面；过于严肃
3. play hookey 逃学
4. play it by ear 事到临头，仓促应付；临时准备
5. play it safe 谨慎行事；不冒风险
6. play it cool 处事冷静，沉着；无动于衷
7. play camels 喝多了，醉醺醺的
8. play up to someone 讨好某人，任意支配某人
9. plug for something 为某人助威， 为某人打气
10. pocket litter 口袋里装的东西
11. have someone in one’s pocket 控制某人，任意支配某人
12. podspeak 庸俗讨厌的谈吐
13. poke one’s nose into something 探听或干预他人的事情
14. poker-faced 面无表情的
15. poor-mouth 穷哭
16. posh 豪华；昂贵；时髦
17. pound the pavements 忙着找工作
18. pour money down the drain 白白浪费钱财
19. pull strings 施加影响（尤指在背后利用权力）
20. pull the wool over someone’s eyes 欺骗某人；蒙蔽某人
---------------------------------------------------------
习惯用语
1. join hands with someone 与某人联合，联手
2. Two heads are better than one. 两个人的智慧胜一人。
3. do someone in 陷害某人
4. sell someone down the river 出卖某人
5. have a high opinion of… 高度评价……
6. be a hard nut to crack 难对付的人
7. keep someone at arm’s length 避免与某人过分亲近
8. mind one’s steps 办事小心谨慎
9. One good turn deserves another. 善有善报
10. have a card up in one’s sleeve 留有对策
11. interfere in… 干涉……，插手……
12. nip something in the bud 把某事消灭在萌芽状态之中
13. be on the safe side 安全妥当的
14. tip the scale 扭转乾坤
15. deal with… 对付……
16. be in a happy frame of mind 心情愉快的
17. to one’s heart’s content 尽情地
18. talk like an open book 无所不谈
19. shoot the breeze 瞎扯
20. talk out of the back of one’s head 胡说八道
21. have had one too many 喝多了
22. stick out like a sore thumb 特别扎眼
23. stick to one’s limit 根据自己的酒量（能力）
24. be a wet blanket 令人扫兴的人或事
25. be not for… 不赞同……
26. be led by the nose 被人牵着鼻子走
27. not see eye to eye with… 与……看法不同
28. hit it off 合得来
29. drink like a fish 喝得很多
30. be not on good terms 关系不好
31. beyond one’s reach 无法理解
32. keep to the bottle 嗜酒如命
33. drown sorrows by drinking 借酒消愁
34. pinch pennies 吝啬
35. the milk of human kindness 人情味
36. be a piece of cake 很容易就能作到的事情
37. charity 慈善事业
-----------------------------------------------------
A: Did you say that you wanted to join hands with（联手，联合）Robert in the project?
B: Yeah. Two heads are better than one（两个人的智慧胜过一人—）. We want to set up a joint venture and expand our business.
A: May I remind you of something? Robert is not an honest guy. He often plays dirty. He in fact has done many people in（陷害过人）. You’ll have to be on the watch-out for（警戒）him.
B: Well, I know him from A to Z（很了解）. He’s vicious to his foes. But that is what I need in doing my line of business. Besides, he won’t sell his true friends down the river（出卖真正的朋友）.
A: You seem to have a high opinion of（高度评价）him. How could he impress you like that?
B: Well, he seems to be a hard nut to crack（难对付的人）. When he does things with other people, he often plays for keeps. He’s on the level（公正的）, anyway.
A: But you’ll have to keep him at arm’s length（避免与他过分亲近）, or he might do you in（陷害你）before it is too late for you to mind your steps（办事小心）.
B: That will help build up a wall（建起一道墙）between us. If I’ve decided to cooperate with him, I’d trust him and have confidence in him. One good turn deserves another（善有善报）, you know?
A: It’s good if you have a card up in your sleeve（留有对策）. By the way, I hear that Robert’s son is always playing hookey, does Robert know that?
B: Of course he knows it, but he’s too busy to interfere in（干涉，插手）the matter.
A: As a father, he can’t ignore his son’s misconduct, can he?
B: Of course he can’t. But he usually gives his son a free hand, unless at times when he has to play it by ear.
A: But that equals to egging his son on. He may play it by ear sometimes, but he can’t always do that. He has to nip it in the bud（把事情消灭在萌芽状态）. Well, he can play it by ear with his son, but you’ll have to play it safe with your business.
B: Well said. But I think I’m on the safe side（安全的）. I can certainly tip the scale（扭转乾坤）when necessary.
A: It does count to play it cool in doing things with other people, especially with those who you do not know very well.
B: That’s right. In fact, playing it cool counts much in doing many things, including dealing with（对付）people.
A: Most people know the significance to play it cool when under stress, but when people are relaxed and in a happy frame of mind（心情愉快的）, they tend to forget all about it.
B: Especially at the dinning table when everyone is eating and drinking to their heart’s content（尽情地）, they seem to talk like an open book（无所不谈）, shooting the breeze（瞎扯）and often talking out of the back of their heads（胡说八道）.
A: Things are even worse when they are playing camels. If one has had one too many（喝多了）, he may talk anyway he likes. And that can be a dangerous thing.
B: At the dining table, people learn to play up to the rest of the dinners. You don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb（显得很个别）.
A: But playing up to other people is one thing, and sticking to one’s limit（根据自己的酒量）is another thing. I would stick to my limit（不超量）whatever the circumstances are.
B: How can you resist when a friend of you is trying to plug you for drinking more? You don’t want to be a wet blanket（令人扫兴）, do you?
A: Of course not! But I’d say I’m up to my limit. In most cases, my friends don’t force me on more drinks.
B: But I would do something else instead of giving a direct refusal. I don’t want to be a wet blanket to the atmosphere.
A: What else can you do expert for refusing to drink more?
B: Most drinkers keep some pocket litter. Keeping some absorbent paper（能吸水的纸）, for instance. They use it for absorbing some of the beer or other hard drinks.
A: That’s simply a waste. I’m not for（不赞同）the idea of doing that.
B: But sometimes other dinners may have you in a pocket. You can’t do anything else except obeying their order.
A: I haven’t been in such a situation, anyway. Even if I had, I would do what I could, but not to be led by the nose（被人牵着鼻子走）. One thing I feel sick of at the dining table is the podspeak（庸俗讨厌的谈吐）of the dinners. They talk big and talk out of the back of their heads（胡说八道）. There’s no limit to（没有极限）their nonsense.
B: I can’t see eye to eye with（看法不同） you here. That’s what the dining table is for. People want to relax after a day’s hard work. It’s a way to relax, you know?
A: Well, you may think what you please, but to me it’s a low taste. Drinkers usually poke their noses into the affairs of other people. They ask questions people do not commonly ask.
B: If they hit it off with（合得来）one another, they don’t mind answering the questions. Depends on your relations with them, of course.
A: There’re of course interesting scenes to see when drinkers are drinking like a fish（喝得很多）. They expressions on their faces tell them all off. And if two of them maintain poker-faced, you know there’s something going on between them.
B: That rarely happens. If it does happen, it shows that they are not on good terms（关系特别好）.
A: They should not get together at the dining table. By the way, have you ever run into a drinker that would poor-mouth himself?
B: No, I haven’t. Most of them like shooting the breeze（闲聊）. They like to boast about their capabilities. Few would talk about things that are beyond their reach（他们无法理解的事情）.
A: Another interesting thing is that people who drink a lot seldom go to a posh restaurant. Maybe they already realize that their behavior is not up to that standard.
B: What do you mean by ‘that standard’?
A: The atmosphere in a posh place makes them lose face. They stick out like a sore thumb（特别扎眼）.
B: That’s not true. These people appear at a posh party, too.
A: Maybe while in a while.
B: Is there another thing you find interesting?
A: Yeah. Most drinkers who keep to the bottle（嗜酒如命）are blue-collar workers. I seldom see intellectuals and men earning high salary drink like a fish（喝得很多）.
B: That’s right. Some of them may even have to pound the pavements for a new job.
A: So, they are drowning sorrows by drinking（借酒消愁）.
B: In some cases you are right, but in most cases they are just relaxing themselves.
A: Relaxing? They are just pouring their money down the drain.
B: The pleasure is what they get. They’re not pinching pennies（吝啬）. And at the drinking session, the milk of human kindness（人情味）is actually brought out. Talking about looking for jobs, a very good friend of mine was made redundant a few months ago. He’s now pounding the pavement, but jobs are scarce. Could you pull some strings and get him hired?
A: Depends on what kind of job he wants to take. By the way, what is he good at?
B: He used to be a service man. He worked at a gas station.
A: Well, he wouldn’t find it a piece of cake（很容易就能）to find a job again. But I’ll try.
B: Are you serious or just pulling the wool over my eyes?
A: I’m serious. I don’t think he can find a job so easily?
B: But he does need your help. He has a family of five, you know?
A: I know. I am not working for charity（慈善事业）. I’m working for a big firm.
B: I know you are working a big firm, and I also know you know a lot of important people. That’s why I’d appreciate your help.
A: All right. I’ll see what I can do.
------------------------------------------------------