play in Peoria

verb

To receive widespread acceptance among members of the general American public.

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Meanings

verbplay in Peoria (third-person singular simple present plays in Peoria, present participle playing in Peoria, simple past and past participle played in Peoria)

present singular third person plays in Peoria · participle present playing in Peoria · participle past played in Peoria · past played in Peoria

  1. USidiomaticTo receive widespread acceptance among members of the general American public.

    We must constantly ask ourselves whether our analysis will play in Peoria.

    1977, Institute for World Order, World Food/Hunger Studies, →ISBN, page 9
    3 more examples

    Mr. Baker persuaded his boss that this pocketbook explanation of war aims, despite its negative reception with opinion leaders, would play in Peoria.

    1990 November 19, William Safire, “Essay: Not Oil Nor Jobs”, in New York Times, retrieved 11 Oct 2016

    Will black-lace-trimmed purple panties play in Peoria? Why not? Cool is the common denominator of teens everywhere.

    2002 April 29, Dody Tsiantar, “Adieu to the Muumuu”, in Time, retrieved 11 Oct 2016

    Cruz was not speaking of Jews. . . . He was talking about liberals and liberalism of the kind that never, ever plays in Peoria.

    2016 January 15, Peter Roff, “Cruz-ified”, in U.S. News, retrieved 11 Oct 2016

Origin

The idiomatic sense is reported to have originated in vaudeville performances in the early 1900s.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

play in Peoria. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/play%20in%20Peoria

MLA

“play in Peoria.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/play%20in%20Peoria. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “play in Peoria,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/play%20in%20Peoria.

Source: play in Peoria on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.