go limp

English translation: play dead

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	go limp
Selected answer:	play dead
Entered by:	S.J

14:01 Jul 25, 2018

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / go limp

English term or phrase: go limp

Fear is as common in the animal kingdom as it is among us humans. When they're flipped over, some toads
will go limp and cross their little arms.

Maybe the sentence is an easy one. But I didn't get what he want to say by it.

No more context.

S.J KudoZ activity Questions: 2512 (none open) (424 closed without grading) Answers: 202 Canada
Local time: 05:22

play dead

Explanation:
toads will pretend to be dead to avoid being attacked and ultimately eaten

Selected response from:

El oso
Russian Federation

Grading comment

Thank you for your efforts.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

3 +4

play dead

El oso

4 +1

their muscles go limp out of fear

Oliver Simões

semi-conscious

Bashiqa

Discussion entries: 1

Answers

6 mins confidence:

semi-conscious

Explanation:
Go limp, give up altogether.
Bit like me after half an hour sunbathing.

Bashiqa
France
Local time: 11:22
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

7 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

play dead

Explanation:
toads will pretend to be dead to avoid being attacked and ultimately eaten

El oso
Russian Federation
PRO pts in category: 8

Grading comment

Thank you for your efforts.

8 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

their muscles go limp out of fear

Explanation:
I believe this passage helps to explain:

"Cataplexy — Most people with narcolepsy experience some degree of cataplexy, which is defined as a sudden loss of voluntary muscle control. An attack may involve only a slight feeling of weakness and limp muscles — such as sagging facial muscles, nodding head, buckling knees, loss of arm strength and garbled speech — or also may cause immediate total body collapse.

These attacks are usually triggered by intense emotions, such as laughter, surprise, anger, stress and fear, and can last anywhere from a few seconds to thirty minutes."

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Note added at 11 mins (2018-07-25 14:12:54 GMT)
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PS: I believe the text is referring to a physiological response in the body.

https://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/narcolepsy/signs_and_symptoms.html

Oliver Simões
United States
Local time: 02:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Portuguese
PRO pts in category: 24

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