The idiom "play cat and mouse" means to engage in a game of teasing or deceiving someone by alternating between hostile pursuit and friendly retreat. It is used to describe a situation where one person is trying to catch or outsmart another person who is trying to avoid being caught or outsmarted.
For example, if two people are negotiating a business deal and one person keeps changing their offer, while the other person keeps changing their demands, they are playing cat and mouse. Similarly, if a police officer is chasing a criminal who keeps evading them, they are also playing cat and mouse.
The phrase comes from the behavior of cats, who like to play with their prey before catching and killing it. They will often pounce on a mouse, let it go, and then pounce on it again. This behavior is similar to the way people sometimes interact with each other in a teasing or deceptive way.
In summary, "play cat and mouse" means to engage in a game of teasing or deceiving someone by alternating between hostile pursuit and friendly retreat. It is a common idiom used in everyday conversation and can be applied to various situations.
• The interviewer was playing cat and mouse with the job candidate during the interview.
• The negotiations between the two companies were like a game of cat and mouse, with each side trying to gain the upper hand.
• The politician and the reporter were playing a game of cat and mouse, with the journalist trying to uncover the truth behind the scandal.
• The spy and the enemy agent were engaged in a deadly game of cat and mouse, with both sides trying to outmaneuver the other in a high-stakes battle of wits.
• The children were playing cat and mouse in the garden.
• The detective and the suspect were playing cat and mouse as they tried to outsmart each other.
• I love to play cat and mouse with my kitten.
• The detective and the serial killer played a deadly game of cat and mouse, each trying to outsmart the other in a battle of wits and cunning.
• The two politicians played cat and mouse during the debate, trying to outwit each other with their arguments.
• The company and its competitors have been playing cat and mouse for years, each trying to gain a bigger share of the market with new products and marketing strategies.
• The spy and the enemy agent played a dangerous game of cat and mouse, each trying to gain the upper hand in their intelligence operations.
• The police played cat and mouse with the criminal for months before finally catching him.