play footsie
Idioms-
Behave coyly, flirt with, especially secretly. For example, Get to the point, there's no need to play footsie with us . This expression alludes to two persons surreptitiously rubbing each other's feet together. [1940s]
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Cooperate or curry favor with in a sly or secret way, as in The mayor's been playing footsie with various neighborhood councils . [Mid-1900s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Anyway, in the filing, Musk says he doesn’t want to play footsie with Twitter.
From The Verge
“It’s like, Max Rose, you can’t play footsie with Trumpists and then try to run a campaign in the five boroughs,” Ms. Greer said.
From New York Times
“She’s got a whole laundry list of things she wants to spend the money on, but she wants to kind of play footsie with the radical left,” Mr. Gessing said.
From Washington Times
“I can remember very well being pushed onto a bed and expected to play footsie,” Smith admitted.
From Fox News
Council continue to play footsie with Snyder, they will get burned, become just another in a long line of people who came to the Redskins with good reputations and left as damaged goods.
From Washington Post
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
