Cat and mouse: Difference between revisions

'''Cat and mouse''', often expressed as '''cat-and-mouse game''', is an English-language [[idiom]] dating back to 1675 that means "a contrived action involving constant pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes."<ref name="mw">{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cat%20and%20mouse |title=cat and mouse |accessdate=2008-07-23 |work=Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]]}}</ref> The "cat" is unable to secure a definitive victory over the "mouse", who, despite not being able to defeat the cat, is able to avoid capture. In extreme cases, the idiom may imply that the contest is never-ending. The term is derived from the hunting behavior of [[Cat|domestic cats]], which often appear to "play" with prey by releasing it after capture. This behavior may arise from an instinctive imperative to ensure that the prey is weak enough to be killed without endangering the cat.<ref>{{cite web|title=Why do cats play with their food?|url=http://azdailysun.com/lifestyles/pets/article_46a97775-232d-5e56-b0ea-dd1c8782b062.html|publisher=Arizona Daily Sun|accessdate=2011-08-15}}</ref>

In colloquial usage, it has often been generalized to mean the advantage constantly shifts between the contestants, leading to an [[impasse]] or ''[[de facto]]'' stalemate.{{Citation needed|date = October 2016}} In classical [[game theory]]Furthermore, catthe andterm mousehas classifiesbeen as a "[[copycat game|copycat]]" archetype whereby there exists no [[social equilibrium|equilibrium]], and most importantly, no [[wikt:endgame|endgame]], its two protagonists, [[Dot and Ditto]], running amok in their [[Normal-form game|game space]]used to infinity, with no endpointrefer to theirthe game anywhere in site attributable to a defective reward system; conflicting incentives. Theoretical [[Moral|active reading]] on "cat hide-and mouse," or "Dot and Ditto" is ominous in its implication; multiple protagonists, each armed a [[passive strategy-seek]], can remain theoretically locked in total perpetual war indefinitely, wholly unable to rise to a plateau sufficient to intellectualize their plight.{{Citation needed|date = OctoberJune 20162019}}

|text=[[v:OpenStax_CollegeQuizbank#The_dream_of_an_open_source_testbankThe_cat_and_mouse_game|The phrase ''cat-and-mouse'' is used in a Wikiversity essay on creating quizzes for Wikimedia projects.]]}}

* ''[[TomCat play and Jerrytoys]]'' cartoons

* ''[[ArmsTom raceand Jerry]]'' franchise