play along 復習

　Zimbabweans are waiting to see what steps the military will take next after seizing control of the country.
　President Robert Mugabe is said to be confined to his home in Harare but unconfirmed reports says his wife Grace, who was bidding to succeed him as president, has fled to Namibia.
　The military's action followed the sacking of Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a fierce rival of Mrs Mugabe.
　His whereabouts are also unclear.
　President Mugabe, 93, has been in control of Zimbabwe since it gained independence from Britain in 1980.
　But the power struggle over who might succeed him, between Mrs Mugabe and Mr Mnangagwa, has split the ruling Zanu-PF party in recent months.
　Evidence that Mrs Mugabe's circle was being pressured by the military came on Wednesday when one of her key allies made a public apology for criticising the head of the army a day earlier. …
　But to win that argument, they need Mr Mugabe to play along.
So the key question now is whether the 93-year-old can be persuaded to make some sort of statement, legitimising the upheavals of the past two days, in return for, what? A peaceful retirement, the safety of his wife and family? Zimbabwe's drama is still unfolding. (Skip the rest)

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42006777

　今回取りあげる表現は、play along です。
　私自身どこか「楽しい」というイメージで捉えていた表現ですが、今回の記事に合う意味を見ていきます。
　まず、語義・語源を確認します。Oxford Dictionary of English (2nd Edition Revised)でみると、play の語源は “Old English plegian ‘to exercise’, plega ‘brisk movement’, related to middle Dutch pleien ‘leap for joy, dance’ ”とあり、すばやい動きや練習運動や遊びを指していたことがわかります。また、along の意味は “(1)moving in a constant direction on (2)extending in a more or less horizontal line on (3)in or into company with others” とあり、今回は(3)の意味で使われてそうです。以上のことから、「他の人とうまく付き合う」といった意味を思い浮かべることができます。
　次に play along を辞書で引いてみます。『ジーニアス英和大辞典』(大修館)をみると、「(1)楽しくやる、協力する(ふりをする)、(2)合わせて演奏する、に返事を待たせる」とありました。また『リーダース英和辞典』(第3版)には、「(その気もないのに)じらす、(その気にさせて)もてあそぶ、あやつる」という意味が載っていました。
　play along は「楽しくやる→協力するふりをする→もてあそぶ」と、どこか人間染みた意味を持つ表現だと感じました。今回の記事では「調子を合わせる、協力する」の意味で使われていると考えられます。(OkaUchi)