play (a game of) cat and mouse
- play (a game of) cat and mouse
- play (a game of) cat and mouse
1. to repeatedly try to make someone react in a way that will cause them problems.
Enemy warplanes have been playing a deadly game of cat and mouse, trying to bring American fighter planes into range of their missiles.
Border agents played cat and mouse with people trying to enter the country illegally.
New idioms dictionary.
2014.
Look at other dictionaries:
play (a game of) cat and mouse with somebody — play (a game of) ˌcat and ˈmouse with sb | play a ˌcat and ˈmouse game with sb idiom to play a cruel game with sb in your power by changing your behaviour very often, so that they become nervous and do not know what to expect • He thought the… … Useful english dictionary
play a cat-and-mouse game with somebody — play (a game of) ˌcat and ˈmouse with sb | play a ˌcat and ˈmouse game with sb idiom to play a cruel game with sb in your power by changing your behaviour very often, so that they become nervous and do not know what to expect • He thought the… … Useful english dictionary
cat and mouse — noun uncount a situation in which you let someone else believe that they have managed to escape, before you actually catch them: a game of cat and mouse play cat and mouse (with someone): Dora knew the detective was playing cat and mouse with her … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
cat and mouse — noun a game for children in which the players form a circle and join hands; they raise their hands to let a player inside the circle or lower their hands to bar a second player who is chasing the first • Syn: ↑cat and rat • Hypernyms: ↑child s… … Useful english dictionary
cat and mouse — UK / US noun [uncountable] a situation in which you let someone else believe that they have managed to escape, before you actually catch them a game of cat and mouse play cat and mouse (with someone): Dora knew the detective was playing cat and… … English dictionary
Cat and Mouse (unofficial PGR game) — Cat and Mouse is an improvised racing game type for Project Gotham Racing 2 (PGR2) and 3 (PGR3) played on Xbox Live. In PGR2 all players must agree to the rules as it is not a built in game type. However, Cat and Mouse is a built in game type in… … Wikipedia
cat and mouse — 1. Also called cat and rat. a children s game in which players in a circle keep a player from moving into or out of the circle and permit a second player to move into or out of the circle to escape the pursuing first player. 2. Western U.S. tick… … Universalium
(a) cat and mouse game — play cat and mouse to try to defeat someone by tricking them into making a mistake so that you have an advantage over them. It s just the latest manoeuvre in the eternal cat and mouse game between the police and drug runners … New idioms dictionary
cat — W3S1 [kæt] n [: Old English; Origin: catt, probably from Latin cattus, catta] 1.) a) a small animal with four legs that people often keep as a pet. Cats sometimes kill small animals and birds →↑feline tabby/ginger/tortoiseshell etc cat (=colours… … Dictionary of contemporary English
cat — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ domestic, family, house (esp. AmE), household, pet ▪ big ▪ She went to Africa to photograph big cats. ▪ … Collocations dictionary
