Play it straight

"The position you'd put me in would be this—of playing a game—and a jolly important game at that—in which the loser loses to me on purpose. . . . If we're going to play a game," he continued, addressing Davenant, before the latter had time to speak, "for Heaven's sake let us play it straight—like men. Let the winner win and the loser lose—"

He added, "I think the American people want a President who will play it straight in foreign policy, tell them the truth."

And how can you not admire a man who could star in a stinker like Battlestar Galactica—and play it straight?

Peter Schickele, the musical satirist and radio show host whose PDQ Bach Christmas concerts sell out Carnegie Hall each year, is not known for playing it straight.

"But the best thing about him is that he always played it straight with us—never double‐dealed, giving us two and keeping one for himself."

Belfort, who made millions on Wall Street before the FBI indicted him and he served nearly two years in federal prison, told the audience he could have made a lot more money if he had played it straight.

"They could have made a fortune just playing it straight, but that wasn't enough for them," said Gill. . . . The brothers ultimately pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and bank fraud.