Play cat and mouse with (someone)

Play cat and mouse with (someone) This idiom is used when someone, (the cat), is using his or her position, power or influence to control another person, (the mouse), in a way that is unfair or abusive. I have liked Jennifer for months. She knows this but she keeps her feelings to herself. I’m getting tired of playing cat and mouse. I’ll ask her out one last time before I move on. The police and the jewelry thieves have been playing cat and mouse for weeks. I wonder if they’ll make an arrest soon. My boss knows I really want that promotion, but he keeps delaying the announcement. I feel like he is just playing cat and mouse with me and the other two candidates.