Learn English – What are the differences between “what is with”, “what is up with” and “what is wrong with”

I think they might be: 1. Acquaintance 2. Friend/buddy/mate 3. Best friend

I know the last one may not be a true synonym, but it's the best I've got.

There are lots of things going on here.

• 'playing the X card' means to bring up or use X as an issue in your own favor (yes as a metaphor for any kind of game situation like cards, where you have strategy or fact hidden or unannounced and you 'play' it). For example, for two people in a debate, one may make an ad hominem attack about the other person's religion, it can be said the first person 'played the religion card'.

Here, I interpret 'to play the drama card' means to bring up the drama of threatening to quit (a dramatic threat) so that the other person (one's employer) would recoil from that and not fire the person.

'lose the X' means don't use X, don't let X be involved, which is not synonymous but implies the 'don't play the drama card'

• to 'trump' someone in informal language means to 'do one better than someone'. This is related to 'play the X card' if the X card played does in fact do one better.

• 'Be ready to walk in some way, shape or form' the phrase of interest is 'way, shape, or form' which is a quasi-legalistic way of listing all the manners of walking away. Rhetorically it is just filler that sound legalistic (there is no really difference among way, shape, or form here).