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 • Apr. 14, 2022
“They’re not going to play footsie with it or shade anything.”
From Washington Post • Oct. 2, 2018
"I personally prefer to munch away on a sandwich in the privacy of an airline seat rather than being judged as you play footsie with the stranger sitting opposite."
From BBC • Jan. 9, 2015
Day adds: "We do not have to play footsie with businessmen on Main Street."
From Time Magazine Archive
Rosie rode with him, but they exchanged not one single hand-squeeze, nor one melting glance, nor did they even play footsie while they were eating lunch in the truck outside a filling station.
From Sam, This is You by Leinster, Murray
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.
