raising hell

Jim is teasing or joking saying "Mel and her friend Holly played sexually with many guys" and what does "raising hell" mean? Does it mean "protest getting angry"? Why did they have to do it? Or just "making a fuss"?

gw2-13
Jim- Back in the day when you two were a couple of single girls, raising hell and breaking hearts in the city?
Mel- All right, she was the one who played the field, I was merely the spectator. It's gonna be great having her live in Grandview.

what does "raising hell" mean?

In this context it usually means having a lot of fun, getting a little rowdy and maybe causing a bit of relatively harmless trouble here and there. But it can also refer to more extreme and destructive behaviour.

not a teacher

And it does not mean they "played sexually with many guys"! It means they were fun, maybe flirty women, and a lot of guys wanted to date them or be their boyfriends, but the guys were not successful in getting them as their girlfriend.

However, "played the field" can certainly mean that.

BobSmith said:

However, "played the field" can certainly mean that.

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It *can* but doesn't have to. It can also simply mean she dated many guys casually, but no-one seriously as she kept her options open. I don't think the phrase implies any level of sexual activity (low or high) at all.

Tullia said:

I don't think the phrase implies any level of sexual activity (low or high) at all.

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I do, and so does UE!

Play the field - Idiom Definition - UsingEnglish.com

BobSmith said:

I do, and so does UE!

Play the field - Idiom Definition - UsingEnglish.com

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This link (top one when you use the google search link on the link you provided) play the field - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia. agrees it can be romantic OR sexual.

Urban Dictionary: play the field also doesn't focus on the sexual aspect - and let's face it, normally if urban dictionary *can* it *will*!

The top (non dictionary) google result was this: The RSPB: News: Gulls play the field in UK schools - I hardly think the RSPB would use it as a headline in an article aimed at children if there was such a clear sexual connotation as you suggest.

The RSPB is stretching here for a clever headline, and I think I see the marks. In my neck of the words, “playing the field” has a clear connotation of sexual promiscuity, and if I weren’t a native speaker, I would avoid using this idiom.

Tullia said:

It *can* but doesn't have to. It can also simply mean she dated many guys casually, but no-one seriously as she kept her options open. I don't think the phrase implies any level of sexual activity (low or high) at all.

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BobSmith said:

I do, and so does UE!

Play the field - Idiom Definition - UsingEnglish.com

Click to expand...

I agree with Tullia! In AmE it is possible to 'play the field' without engaging in sexual activity.

Perhaps it is time to change the UE definition of this idiom.

I don't see "playing the field" one way or the other. The context would probably tell me whether it was simply dating or sexual (although these days I imagine dating probably involves sexual activity anyway).

This American speaker does not feel it implies she was having a lot of sex with many men. It only means that she did not date any one person seriously.

Bottom line: One does not need to 'score' in order to 'play the field'!!!

Cheers,
A4

I have added the dating possibility, but it is still just sexual to me. :up:

amigos4 said:

I agree with Tullia! In AmE it is possible to 'play the field' without engaging in sexual activity.

Perhaps it is time to change the UE definition of this idiom.

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:up: 'The field' is all the contestants available to be backed. If you bet all your money on one horse you have a limited chance of winning. If you 'play the field' you back every horse; you lose several stakes, but you are bound to have money on the winner. (To use another idiom, you have 'hedged your bets'.)

This image has an obvious, almost traditional, implication of sexual activity in some contexts: "You've been going out with her since you were 16. Don't you think you should play the field a bit before you settle down?" But I agree that the UE definition could do with an update.

b