footsie

[foo t-see]

noun Informal.

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

Idioms

play footsie/footsies with,

to flirt with, especially by clandestinely touching someone's foot or leg; be slyly or furtively intimate with.
to seek advantage from, especially by discreet or stealthy means; curry favor with.

Also foot·sy, footie.

Origin of footsie

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for footsie

Contemporary Examples of footsie

A sign that the Gulf States and/or Turkey told the White House they were getting out if the footsie continued?
Is Obama Done Playing Footsie With Assad?
Michael Tomasky
November 17, 2014

British Dictionary definitions for footsie

footsie

noun

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

Footsie

noun

an informal name for Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for footsie

"amorous play with the feet" [OED], 1944, from foot (n.).