cat and mouse

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

cat′ and mouse′, 

1. Games Also called cat′ and rat′. a children's game in which players in a circle keep a player from moving into or out of the circle and permit a second player to move into or out of the circle to escape the pursuing first player.
2. Dialect Terms, Games [Western U.S.] tick-tack-toe (def. 1).
3. Idioms play cat and mouse, to engage in a gamelike relationship in which evasion and pursuit are used:
   They played cat and mouse for a while before she consented to go out with him.
4. Idioms play cat and mouse with:
   • to toy or trifle with.
   • to use strategy on one's opponent, esp. while waiting to strike:
     The detective played cat and mouse with the suspect.
• 1910–15