hare and hounds

American  

noun

1. an outdoor game in which certain players, the hares, start off in advance on a long run, scattering small pieces of paper, called the scent, with the other players, the hounds, following the trail so marked in an effort to catch the hares before they reach a designated point.

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hare and hounds British  

noun

1. (functioning as singular) a game in which certain players ( hares ) run across country scattering pieces of paper that the other players ( hounds ) follow in an attempt to catch the hares

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Etymology

Origin of hare and hounds

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hare and hounds

There are two kinds of 'cross-country running—the paper-chase, sometimes called hare and hounds, and the club run over a fixed course.

From Harper's Round Table, July 16, 1895 by Various

But it's good fun; it's like a paper chase, or hare and hounds.

From Under Fire For Servia by Colonel James Fiske

The Rover boys had come to Putnam Hall in the fall, and now summer sports were cast aside among the pupils, and football and hare and hounds became the rage.

From The Rover Boys at School by Edward Stratemeyer

Next in value to these natural outdoor sports come the artificial games; baseball, football, hare and hounds, lawn tennis, croquet, and hockey.

From Practical Ethics by William De Witt Hyde

As we know, Sam was an excellent runner, and hare and hounds just suited him.

From The Rover Boys at School by Edward Stratemeyer