play both ends against the middle

Idioms  

1. Also, play one off against another. Gain an advantage by setting opposing parties or interests against one another. For example, Some children are adept at manipulating their parents, playing both ends against the middle, or Aunt Jane had a nasty habit of playing the twins off against each other. The first term may come from a cheating practice used in faro. Minute strips were cut off certain cards, so that one could tell where they lay in the deck. When the cards were cut convex or concave, it was called “both ends against the middle.” The figurative use of the term dates from the first half of the 1900s. The variant originated in the mid-1600s as play against one another, with off being added in the late 1800s.

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Example Sentences

Also excellent is “Trapped,” starring Lloyd Bridges in his pre-“Sea Hunt” days as a counterfeiter who tries to play both ends against the middle.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2019

The picture is of a lifelong con man, trapped, wriggling furiously, but still determined to play both ends against the middle.

From Slate • Dec. 8, 2018

Let’s hope she learns from Unser and finds a way to play both ends against the middle, like he did with Clay, rather than falling into one of this show’s worst tropes.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 24, 2014

Like most artists who play both ends against the middle, Gomez has been a great financial success.

From Time Magazine Archive

Mr. Lyte, in his effort to play both ends against the middle, did take the Observer and every Thursday Johnny habitually crossed from one stable yard to the other.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes