Imagine you are watching TV with your son and the volume is a bit low, and you want to ask him to turn it up. You could simply say
turn it up,
but is it okay to say:
Play it up.
Does it sound wrong, strange or awkward if I use it according to sense 11 below taken from a Cambridge dictionary.
10: [intransitive or transitive] to perform music on an instrument or instruments
He learned to play the clarinet at the age of ten.1: Play us a song!/Play a song for us!
2: On Radio London they play African and South American music as well as rock and pop.
3: They could hear a jazz band playing in the distance.
4: Play up a bit (= play louder) – I can hardly hear you!
11: [intransitive or transitive] to (cause a machine to) produce sound or a picture
Play the last few minutes of the video again.
See also playback
Best Answer
Yes, it would sound wrong, strange and awkward to use play it up to mean turn it up. In England and the rest of the UK, people don't normally do that because turn it up, is already in widespread use. This is usually used when someone wants to increase the sound coming from a television or radio but, can also be used regarding other devices.
Sometimes, some people use alternatives which are, turn up the volume or, turn up the sound.