play-play
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English[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Reduplication of play, influenced by Malay grammar (Malay main-main), or a calque of Mandarin 玩玩 (wánwan).
Verb[edit]
play-play (no third-person singular simple present, no present participle, no simple past or past participle)
- (Manglish, Singlish) To mess around; to play around.
- Don't play-play hor. ― Don't play around, alright?
Etymology 2[edit]
Reduplication of play, possibly influenced by Afrikaans speel-speel.
Adjective[edit]
play-play (comparative more play-play, superlative most play-play)
- (South Africa, colloquial) Fake, toy, make-believe
- 1989 December, Edgars Christmas Catalogue:
- They’re at the age when they want more than just a play-play watch.
Categories:
- English reduplications
- English terms calqued from Mandarin
- English terms derived from Mandarin
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English multiword terms
- Manglish
- Singlish
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms calqued from Afrikaans
- English terms derived from Afrikaans
- English adjectives
- South African English
- English colloquialisms
- English terms with quotations