play the fool

verb

Roget 853: be ridiculous etc. adj.; pass from the sublime to the ridiculous; make one laugh; play the fool, make a fool of oneself, commit an absurdity.   

Roget 840: amuse, entertain, divert, enliven; tickle the fancy; titillate, raise a smile, put in good humor; cause laughter, create laughter, occasion laughter, raise laughter, excite laughter, produce laughter, convulse with laughter; set the table in a roar, be the death of one.    recreate, solace, cheer, rejoice; please etc. 829; interest; treat, regale.    amuse oneself, game; play a game, play pranks, play tricks; sport, disport, toy, wanton, revel, junket, feast, carouse, banquet, make merry, drown care; drive dull care away; frolic, gambol, frisk, romp; caper; dance etc. (leap) 309; keep up the ball; run a rig, sow one's wild oats, have one's fling, take one's pleasure; paint the town red [Slang]; see life; desipere in loco [Lat.], play the fool.    make holiday, keep holiday; go a Maying.    while away the time, beguile the time; kill time, dally.    smile, simper, smirk; grin, grin like a Cheshire cat; mock, laugh in one's sleeve; laugh, laugh outright; giggle, titter, snigger, crow, snicker, chuckle, cackle; burst out, burst into a fit of laughter; shout, split, roar.    shake one's sides, split one's sides, hold both one's sides; roar with laughter, die with laughter.    ... show more

Roget 497: play the fool etc. 499; talk nonsense, parler a tort et a travess [Fr.]; battre la campagne [Fr.]; hanemolia bazein [Gr.]; be absurd etc. adj..

Roget 499: to be an imbecile etc. adj.; have no brains, have no sense etc. 498.    trifle, drivel, radoter^†, dote; ramble etc. (madness) 503; play the fool, play the monkey, monkey around, fool around; take leave of one's senses (insanity) 503; not see an inch beyond one's nose; stultify oneself etc. 699; talk nonsense etc. 497.    ... show more

Roget 699: be unskillful etc. adj.; not see an inch beyond one's nose; blunder, bungle, boggle, fumble, botch, bitch, flounder, stumble, trip; hobble etc. 275; put one's foot in it; make a mess of, make hash of, make sad work of; overshoot the mark.    play tricks with, play Puck, mismanage, misconduct, misdirect, misapply, missend.    stultify oneself, make a fool of oneself, commit oneself; act foolishly; play the fool; put oneself out of court; lose control, lose control of oneself, lose one's head, lose one's cunning.    begin at the wrong end; do things by halves etc. (not complete) 730; make two bites of a cherry; play at cross purposes; strain at a gnat and swallow a camel etc. (caprice) 608; put the cart before the horse; lock the stable door when the horse is stolen etc. (too late) 135.    not know what one is about, not know one's own interest, not know on which side one's bread is buttered; stand in one's own light, quarrel with one's bread and butter, throw a stone in one's own garden, kill the goose which lays the golden eggs, pay dear for one's whistle, cut one's own throat, bum one's fingers; knock one's head against a stone wall, beat one's head against a stone wall; fall into a trap, catch a Tartar, bring the house about one's ears; have too many eggs in one basket (imprudent) 863, have too many irons in the fire.    mistake etc. 495; take the shadow for the substance etc. (credulity) 486; bark up the wrong tree; be in the wrong box, aim at a pigeon and kill a crow; take the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong sow by the ear, get the dirty end of the stick; put the saddle on the wrong horse, put a square peg into a round hole, put new wine into old bottles.    cut blocks with a razor; hold a farthing candle to the sun etc. (useless) 645; fight with a shadow, grasp at a shadow; catch at straws, lean on a broken reed, reckon without one's host, pursue a wild goose chase; go on a fool's goose chase, sleeveless errand; go further and fare worse; lose one's way, miss one's way; fail etc. 732.    ... show more

Roget 856: ridicule, deride, mock, taunt; snigger; laugh in one's sleeve; tease [ridicule lightly], badinage, banter, rally, chaff, joke, twit, quiz, roast; haze [U.S.]; tehee^†; fleer^†; show up.    play upon, play tricks upon; fool to the top of one's bent; laugh at, grin at, smile at; poke fun at.    satirize, parody, caricature, burlesque, travesty.    turn into ridicule; make merry with; make fun of, make game of, make a fool of, make an April fool of^†; rally; scoff etc. (disrespect) 929.    raise a laugh etc. (amuse) 840; play the fool, make a fool of oneself.    ... show more

debug info: 0.0489