play hide and seek

Idioms  

1. Evade or seem to evade someone. For example, Bill is hard to pin down—he's always playing hide and seek. This expression alludes to the children's game in which one player tries to find others who are hiding. It has been used figuratively since the mid-1600s.

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Example Sentences

In the maze of trails at Carkeek Park, Hendrickson split the class up into small groups and had us use map and compass to play hide and seek with the three instructors.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 17, 2023

But they still play hide and seek with death.

From New York Times • Oct. 5, 2020

I can still remember the times I spent listening to both of them hold forth on politics and relationships at the kitchen table while Christie and I would play hide and seek.

From The Guardian • Nov. 28, 2017

The oil, she says, is often hard to locate because it has a tendency to play hide and seek.

From Salon • Apr. 23, 2013

My brother and I used to play hide and seek in the long, narrow hallways, and on and under the stairs.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright