play for time

play for time idiom
Use delaying tactics, temporize, as in The defense attorney decided to play for time while they searched for an eyewitness. [c. 1940]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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