- overplay your hand
- to believe you are in a stronger situation or position than you really are and fail as a result
He overplayed his hand, and his arrogance lost him the election.
English dictionary. 2014.
overplay your hand
Look at other dictionaries:
overplay your hand — phrase to believe you are in a stronger situation or position than you really are and fail as a result He overplayed his hand, and his arrogance lost him the election. Thesaurus: to make a mistake, or to do something badlysynonym to cause… … Useful english dictionary
overplay your hand — overplay (your) hand mainly American to try to get more advantages from a situation than you are likely to get. I m going to ask for promotion but I think it might be overplaying my hand to ask to work fewer hours as well … New idioms dictionary
overplay your hand — If you overplay your hand, you are overconfident and spoil your chances of success by trying to obtain too much. Sam is hoping for a bonus for his good results, but he may be overplaying his hand if he asks for a promotion … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
overplay hand — overplay (your) hand mainly American to try to get more advantages from a situation than you are likely to get. I m going to ask for promotion but I think it might be overplaying my hand to ask to work fewer hours as well … New idioms dictionary
hand — hand1 W1S1 [hænd] n ↑finger, ↑fingernail, ↑thumb ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(part of body)¦ 2¦(help)¦ 3¦(control)¦ 4 get out of hand 5 on the other hand 6 hands off 7 in hand … Dictionary of contemporary English
hand — 1 noun PART OF THE BODY 1 (C) the part at the end of a person s arm, including the fingers and thumb, used to pick up or keep hold of things: He held the pencil in his right hand. | Go wash your hands. | hold hands: They kissed and held hands. |… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
overplay — verb (T) 1 to make something seem more important than it is: The poet s importance is overplayed by his biographer. opposite underplay (1) 2 overplay your hand to try to gain more advantage than you know you can reasonably expect: If you re… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
overplay — UK [ˌəʊvə(r)ˈpleɪ] / US [ˌoʊvərˈpleɪ] verb [transitive] Word forms overplay : present tense I/you/we/they overplay he/she/it overplays present participle overplaying past tense overplayed past participle overplayed to treat something as being… … English dictionary
overplay — o|ver|play [ˌəuvəˈpleı US ˌouvər ] v [T] 1.) to make something seem more important than it is ≠ ↑underplay ▪ His role in the group s success has been overplayed. 2.) overplay your hand to behave too confidently because you think you are in a… … Dictionary of contemporary English
overplay — o|ver|play [ ,ouvər pleı ] verb transitive to treat something as being more important or severe than it really is overplay your hand to believe you are in a stronger situation or position than you really are and fail as a result … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
