mit jemandem Katz und Maus spielen
Meaning: To tease or toy with someone's emotions, alternating between kind and cruel treatment for personal amusement.
Language: German
Literally: to play cat and mouse with someone
Category: Animals
Origin: German observation of natural predator-prey behavior between cats and mice, documented in folk tales and Aesop's fables translated into German.
More idioms — Animals
- tener un rabo de paja — To feel guilty or anxious about something, fearing exposure of a personal fault or secret.
- essere un osso duro — Be a difficult, stubborn person who is challenging to deal with or influence.
- медведь на ухо наступил — To lack musical ability or have poor sense of pitch and rhythm.
- att vara rädd som en hare — To be extremely fearful and jumpy, ready to flee at the slightest danger.
- let the cat out of the bag — to reveal a secret inadvertently.
- go belly up — to fail completely; to go bankrupt.
More German idioms
- Das ist mir Wurst — I couldn't care less either way.
- Auf dem Holzweg sein — To be on completely the wrong track.
- Die Kirche im Dorf lassen — To keep things in proportion and not get carried away.
- Jetzt geht's um die Wurst — Now it's crunch time — everything is at stake.
- Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof — Life is not all fun and games; expect hardship.
- Die Katze im Sack kaufen — To buy something sight unseen and get cheated.
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