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• footsie
  footsie

  noun

  Sometimes footsies. the act of flirting or sharing a surreptitious intimacy.
• Footsie
  Footsie

  noun

  an informal name for Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index

footsie

American  

[foot-see] / ˈfʊt si /

Also footsy,

noun

Informal.

1. Sometimes footsies. the act of flirting or sharing a surreptitious intimacy.

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idioms

1. play footsie / footsies with,

   1. to flirt with, especially by clandestinely touching someone's foot or leg; be slyly or furtively intimate with.

   2. to seek advantage from, especially by discreet or stealthy means; curry favor with.

Footsie ¹ British  

/ ˈfʊtsɪ /

noun

1. an informal name for Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index

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footsie ² British  

/ ˈfʊtsɪ /

noun

1. informal flirtation involving the touching together of feet, knees, etc (esp in the phrase play footsie )

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Etymology

Origin of footsie

First recorded in 1930–35; foot + -sie, spelling variant of -sy

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

footsie Footsie

At this point, we’re only playing debasement footsie.

From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026

Ms. Haley’s campaign events are gathering grounds for a mix of voters who are yearning to move past Mr. Trump and others who are playing footsie with the idea.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 1, 2024

He spends half his time placating advertisers and the other half playing footsie with a fawning audience that tweets at him.

From Slate ● Feb. 6, 2023

Anyway, in the filing, Musk says he doesn’t want to play footsie with Twitter.

From The Verge ● Apr. 14, 2022

Nancy knew everyone from school—except a little girl running around in footsie pajamas.

From "Sleepover Sleuths: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #1" by Carolyn Keene

But it was Sutton's guests, grime stars Footsie and Strategy, who took the weekly win to move back to the top of the table with only two weeks to go.

From BBC ● May 15, 2025

The Footsie is down 60 points, or almost 0.9%, at 7034 points, its lowest since 20th August -- with 89 of its 100 members falling.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 9, 2021

“Thank God,” Cade said as she returned home to her cats, Stevie and Footsie, after spending the night in a hotel for safety.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 27, 2020

Footsie, “the one-man band,” played techno remixes of wedding party classics like “Y.M.C.A.” on a synthesizer as blue, green and red lights pulsed overhead.

From New York Times ● Apr. 26, 2017

"Most large pension funds invest globally and across assets other than shares, so an individual's portfolio won't move exactly in line with the Footsie," it explains.

From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2016