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

"We are out playing hare and hounds, sir."

From The Rover Boys at School by Stratemeyer, Edward

I felt as if I were taking part in a schoolboy game of hare and hounds.

From The Thirty-Nine Steps by Buchan, John

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

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 Stratemeyer, Edward

You will see, the very first game we play at hare and hounds I shall beat you.

From My Mother's Rival Everyday Life Library No. 4 by Brame, Charlotte M.