footsie

noun

foot·​sie ˈfu̇t-sē 

variants or footsy

1

: a furtive flirtatious caressing with the feet (as under a table)

2

: a usually surreptitious cooperation or negotiation with someone supposed hostile to one's own interests

—usually used with play

Examples of footsie in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This means that those footsies won’t develop the malodorous aroma that haunts the bottoms of sleeping bags on long overnighters, even when worn for a few days in a row. —Meg Carney, Field & Stream, 4 Jan. 2024

There’s been no indication of secret footsie with other franchises, a la the Miami Dolphins and a certain aging QB. —Jason Gay, WSJ, 5 Aug. 2022

March 31 interview with FBI agents to see the shameless mental havoc wreaked by people like Trump and every Republican politician and pundit pimping, or even playing footsie with, a profoundly false election narrative. —Rex Huppke, chicagotribune.com, 18 Oct. 2021

Instead of rejecting these forces, too many members of today’s Republican Party play footsie with them – or flat-out embrace their rhetoric and ideas. —Jill Filipovic, CNN, 17 Jan. 2023

Word History

Etymology

diminutive of foot entry 1

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing footsie

• play footsie

Rhymes for footsie

• be
• bee
• bree
• cree
• fee
• flea
• flee
• free
• gee
• ghee
• glee
• he