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

He added: “She was always there. There were two other cousins and we would play football together, play hide and seek and go for walks and hikes and all the things you do growing up.”

From The Guardian • Mar. 9, 2016

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