How did you pronounce “play like” when you were little?
What other “personalizations” of words and phrases did you use that went away as you got older and more “hip” to the real world around you?
Did you have other synonyms for “play like” other than “pretend?”
My brother and I played Wadiff all the time when we were children.
Wadiff…we had a million dollars?
Wadiff…we were the only people in the world?
Wadiff…we could fly?
Wadiff…we were invisible?
Half the fun was agreeing on the rules for each scenario. For example, it was always stipulated in the second one that we could drive, fly planes, and operate any kind of machinery.
Both my daughters, for quite a long time, maybe even into their early teens, used “lookit” to mean something like “look at that”.
Your all’s are better and I thought plike was ours but…daryuh. My younger brother and I practically lived in the park for a while and one time a known-to-be-mean boy threw a dead snake at me there. “Pick it up, I dare ya!” We were at the swings. The snake was long and its throat was white and it was very dead so I picked it up and started swinging, mashing it in my hand against the chain. As I got higher I did my usual trick: turned upside down, wrapped my legs around the chains, and let go with my hands. Except this time I was dangling a dead snake over my head, upside down. Come to think of it, it might have been my finest hour.
My neighbors when I was a kid growing up in Los Angeles were from Arkansas and had some interesting words and phrases. The only one I can recall now was “pike like”, meaning pretend. “Let’s pike like we’re Indians!”
My sister and I had “less’tend” - “Less’tend we’re pirates!”
My daughter didn’t like “swear words” but had a complete list of workarounds. One day I explained that her “freaking” was just “fucking” watered down and she was a bit mortified.
My father still does this.
I used the words “make believe” and “pretend.” I haven’t heard of “plike” or “play like.”
Perhaps in not quite so childish a context?
“Let’s play like this is a terrorist attack. What’s our best strategy to avoid major disaster?”
“Okay, let’s just play like this is a real life event and this happens.”
“Would this scenario play like a desperate mom situation?”
Any of those sound plausible at least?
Every time one of my nieces or nephews graduates high school, I encourage her (or him) to go to college and earn a Masters of Beeswax Administration.