play cat and mouse

1. To engage in a suspenseful relationship in which one is being pursued and one is the pursuer. The marshals and the fugitive have been playing cat and mouse for months now, but they may finally have him cornered.

2. To play with or tease someone before turning violent or vicious, likened to the way a cat toys with a mouse before killing it. If we have any hopes of getting the prisoner to crack, we need to play cat and mouse now, in the early stages of the interrogation.

3. To play a game in which children stand in a circle and raise their arms to let one player into the middle and then lower their arms to keep out a second player, who is chasing the first. Let's play cat and mouse! I'll go first—everybody else, circle up!

See also: and, cat, mouse, play

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

play cat and mouse with someone

Fig. to be coy and evasive with someone. I know what you are up to. Don't play cat and mouse with me! I wish that they wouldn't play cat and mouse with me!

See also: and, cat, mouse, play

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

play cat and mouse

Amuse oneself or trifle with, toy with, as in She loved to play cat and mouse with an admirer, acting by turns friendly, indifferent, and jealous . The analogy of a cat toying with a helpless mouse was drawn centuries earlier, but the precise term dates only from the early 1900s.

See also: and, cat, mouse, play

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

play cat and mouse

play a game of cat and mouse

COMMON In a contest or dispute, if one person or side plays cat and mouse or plays a game of cat and mouse with another, the first person or side tries to confuse or deceive the second in order to defeat them. He would play cat and mouse with other riders, sometimes waiting until the fourth lap to come from behind and win. A diplomatic game of cat and mouse is being played between the United Nations and the warring factions in the region. Note: You can also talk about a cat and mouse game or a cat and mouse chase or use other nouns in this way. Amos played a cat and mouse game with officers for several hours. They were arrested after a cat-and-mouse chase through the fields. Note: The reference here is to a cat playing with a mouse before killing it.

See also: and, cat, mouse, play

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

play cat and mouse with

manoeuvre in a way designed alternately to provoke and thwart an opponent.

The image here is of the way that a cat toys with a mouse, pretending to release it and then pouncing on it again.

See also: and, cat, mouse, play

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

cat and mouse, game of/to play

Toying with a helpless opponent or victim. The cat, ready to pounce, was recorded by Jonathan Swift (“She watches him as a cat would watch a mouse”). The cat-mouse analogy most often has been applied to authorities who may do as they wish with those in their power.

词组	play cat and mouse
释义	play cat and mouse play cat and mouse 1. To engage in a suspenseful relationship in which one is being pursued and one is the pursuer. The marshals and the fugitive have been playing cat and mouse for months now, but they may finally have him cornered. 2. To play with or tease someone before turning violent or vicious, likened to the way a cat toys with a mouse before killing it. If we have any hopes of getting the prisoner to crack, we need to play cat and mouse now, in the early stages of the interrogation. 3. To play a game in which children stand in a circle and raise their arms to let one player into the middle and then lower their arms to keep out a second player, who is chasing the first. Let's play cat and mouse! I'll go first—everybody else, circle up! See also: and, cat, mouse, play Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. play cat and mouse with someone Fig. to be coy and evasive with someone. I know what you are up to. Don't play cat and mouse with me! I wish that they wouldn't play cat and mouse with me! See also: and, cat, mouse, play McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. play cat and mouse Amuse oneself or trifle with, toy with, as in She loved to play cat and mouse with an admirer, acting by turns friendly, indifferent, and jealous . The analogy of a cat toying with a helpless mouse was drawn centuries earlier, but the precise term dates only from the early 1900s. See also: and, cat, mouse, play The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. play cat and mouse or play a game of cat and mouse COMMON In a contest or dispute, if one person or side plays cat and mouse or plays a game of cat and mouse with another, the first person or side tries to confuse or deceive the second in order to defeat them. He would play cat and mouse with other riders, sometimes waiting until the fourth lap to come from behind and win. A diplomatic game of cat and mouse is being played between the United Nations and the warring factions in the region. Note: You can also talk about a cat and mouse game or a cat and mouse chase or use other nouns in this way. Amos played a cat and mouse game with officers for several hours. They were arrested after a cat-and-mouse chase through the fields. Note: The reference here is to a cat playing with a mouse before killing it. See also: and, cat, mouse, play Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. play cat and mouse with manoeuvre in a way designed alternately to provoke and thwart an opponent. The image here is of the way that a cat toys with a mouse, pretending to release it and then pouncing on it again. See also: and, cat, mouse, play Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary cat and mouse, game of/to play Toying with a helpless opponent or victim. The cat, ready to pounce, was recorded by Jonathan Swift (“She watches him as a cat would watch a mouse”). The cat-mouse analogy most often has been applied to authorities who may do as they wish with those in their power. See also: and, cat, game, of, play The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer See also: drive (one) out of office force (one) out of office force out of office give (one) (one's) head give head give somebody their head give someone their head cooking for one 1FTR as one door closes, another opens References in periodicals archive There's a climbing wall, a spring board and other stuff and we usually play cat and mouse." Small Talk This summer alone we've seen Mark Wahlberg and Edward Norton play cat and mouse with a boat, truck, and train full of bullion in the pumped-up remake of The Italian Job, watched Dustin Hoffman and Edward Burns bait and switch each other with a van full of dough in Confidence, and spied on Nick Nolte's efforts to pull one last jewelry heist in The Good Thief. Honor among thieves: maybe those shady characters in heist movies can actually teach us a thing or two about cooperation and a just society PIRATE mice are plaguing HMS Belfast this May Day in a children's event called Play Cat and Mouse running from April 22 to May 2. A plague of pirate mice; MAGICAL MAY DAYS If the DE tries to feather or play cat and mouse with the QB, the QB can turn up and out for positive yards. Taking the Defense on a Trip
随便看	run (something) past (one) run something past someone run (something) up the flagpole run something up the flagpole runt run/take its course Run that by again Run that by me again Run that by me one more time Run that by one more time run the clock down run the clock out run the gamut run the gamut of (something) run the gamut of something run the gamut, to run the gauntlet run the gauntlet of something/someone run the gauntlet, to run the good race run the risk run the risk of (something) run the rule over run the rule over (one) run the show