play (a game of) cat and mouse

idiom

: to engage in behavior that is like the way a cat chases a mouse or plays with a mouse before killing it

—used especially to describe behavior in which someone says or does different things to deceive or control other people, to avoid being caught, etc.

The governor has been playing (a game of) cat and mouse with the media, refusing to say definitely whether he will run for reelection.

Examples of play (a game of) cat and mouse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As Eiko, Misaki, the Terminator, and the children play cat and mouse throughout Tokyo, Malcolm and Kokoro continue their work. —Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, Vulture, 30 Aug. 2024

That said, our favorite part of this presentation was when HBO released the new season trailer for House of the Dragon not long after Amazon dropped one for Lord of the Rings as the two fantasy dramas continue to play a game of cat and mouse. —Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 May 2024

Streaming providers constantly play cat and mouse with VPN servers that attempt to get around their geoblocking, but NordVPN is one of the best at circumvention. —Jon Martindale, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2021