act/play the fool
idiom
: to behave in a silly or foolish way
If you keep playing the fool by asking silly questions, people won't take you seriously.
Examples of act/play the fool in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On Survivor’s all-winners 40th season (in which Rob played with Traitors three’s Tony and Jeremy), Rob was eliminated fairly early, mostly because nobody on his tribe wanted to play the fool to his mastermind.
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Joe Reid, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
Unafraid to play the fool, Phoenix suggests the lethal possibilities of a leader who is small in many more ways than one.
10.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2024
Gabler has surprised with his ability to go with the flow and play the fool when necessary.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 16 Nov. 2022
That’s not cause for any of us to tear off our masks and act the fool during the Labor Day weekend.
—Dallas News, 5 Sep. 2020
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Joe Reid, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
Unafraid to play the fool, Phoenix suggests the lethal possibilities of a leader who is small in many more ways than one.
10.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2024
Gabler has surprised with his ability to go with the flow and play the fool when necessary.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 16 Nov. 2022
That’s not cause for any of us to tear off our masks and act the fool during the Labor Day weekend.
—Dallas News, 5 Sep. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Act/play the fool.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/act%2Fplay%20the%20fool. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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