power plays

Noun

power play (plural power plays)

1. Tactics used to magnify power or influence.
   • Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and...2013 July 19, Timothy Garton Ash, “Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, archived from the original on 26 Apr 2022, page 18
2. A strategy or maneuver with a similar intention.
   • This has become a power-play between England, Fifa and the Qatari leadership. England’s players have been very good on these issues.2022 November 21, Barney Ronay, “Iran’s brave and powerful gesture is a small wonder from a World Cup of woe”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 19 Mar 2023
3. A situation where a team has a numerical advantage on the ice due to one or more penalties given to the opposing team.

   Synonyms:

   man advantage

4. A similar situation in other ball games, such as lacrosse, indoor soccer, rugby, and cricket.
5. A play used to move the stones to the side of the sheet.