"play it straight" in Chinese (Simplified)

• 坦率行事
• 按规矩做事

Definition

诚实坦率地行事，不撒谎、不耍花招。也指遵守规则，不搞小动作。

Usage Notes (Chinese (Simplified))

这个表达比较口语化，在需要诚实、公开行事的场合常用，比如谈判或面试。和开玩笑、掩盖事实或算计行为形成对比。

Examples

Just play it straight when they ask about your past jobs.

他们问你以前的工作时，只要**坦率行事**就好。

If we play it straight, people will trust us more.

我们如果**坦率行事**，大家会更信任我们。

The teacher told the class to play it straight during the exam.

老师告诉全班考试时要**按规矩做事**。

Let’s just play it straight with them and see what happens.

我们直接**坦率行事**，看看会发生什么。

He loves to joke around, but tonight I want him to play it straight.

他平时很爱开玩笑，但今晚我希望他能**正经点**。

During the negotiations, we had no choice but to play it straight.

谈判过程中，我们只能**坦率行事**。