Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to nudge someone’s foot with one’s own – out of sight of companions – as a possible prelude to further intimacy.

1907		Sun. Times (Perth) 8 Dec. 4/8: Petitioner in the Wallace divorce case, while objecting to the co-respondent [...] ‘playing foots’ under the table with Mrs Wallace, himself admitted that he and the same lady may have ‘tapped toes’ before their marriage .
1907		Sun. Times (Perth) 8 Sept. 4/7: Squeezing hands in the light going out, / Playing foots coming home with the girls around.
1910		Sun. Times (Perth) 13 Feb. 2nd sect. 1/1: He declined to play foots right through the subsequent supper.
1914		Sport (Adelaide) 30 Oct. 5/3: It’s better fun playing footies with the cook than running about the street.
1944		G. Fowler Good Night, Sweet Prince 131: I played footsie with her during Don José’s first seduction by Carmen.
1949		J.H. Burns Lucifer with a Book 313: Buddy and Midge were sitting close together, playing footie-footie with their loafers.
1950		K. Amis letter 27 Nov. in Leader (2000) 249: Saw no-one but Colin and Patsy [Strang] (who played footie with me under a Randolph table).
1955		E. Hunter Blackboard Jungle 309: Lois Hammond was not of a mind to play footsie.
1959		J. Thurber Years with Ross 49: In [a drawing] [...] showing a man and his wife and another woman at a table [...] the designing minx was playing footy-footy with the husband.
1963–74		B. Humphries Barry McKenzie [comic strip] in Complete Barry McKenzie (1988) 86: Do youse mind not playin’ footsie with me.
1978		L. Kramer Faggots 204: Patience and tenderness and hope and playing footsie can all work out.
1986		L. Heinemann Paco’s Story (1987) 201: She’s making eyes at Dad and playing footies with Frank.
1999		K. Sampson Powder 37: Guy played footsie under the breakfast table with a wan-looking Ticky.
2001		N. Barlay Hooky Gear 228: Impossible to make out exactly how far they are. Close enough. Stretchin my leg would be like playin footsie.
2015		(con. 1970s) M. Peppiatt Bacon in Your Blood 36: I don’t want to be like those other old fools and be what’s called playing footsie under the table at seventy.

2. to indulge in the cautious sounding out of any relationship, economic, political etc, to curry favour.

1935		S. Lewis It Can’t Happen Here 215: Lindy and you, playing footie-footie these last couple years.
1953		‘Curt Cannon’ ‘Dead Men Don’t Drink’ in I Like ’Em Tough (1958) 33: There are times when you can play footsie, and there are times when you automatically sense that a man is dangerous.
1953		E. Hemingway letter 20 Feb. in Baker Sel. Letters (1981) 807: I cannot help out very much with the true dope on God as I have never played footy-footy with him.
1955		B. Schulberg On the Waterfront (1964) 233: Accepting bribes [...] Playing footsie with the boss stevedores.
1960		E. De Roo Big Rumble 120: Even if we don’t play footsie with Preston White which we do, we don’t go lookin’ for a rumble.
1971		Ink 12 June 14/2: The real trouble started when he started playing footsie with the real capitalists.
1991		B. Hamper Rivethead (1992) 46: As Bob-A-Lou had predicted, the boss started playin’ footsie with the workers [...] ‘Your input is invaluable to the future of our operations.’.
2006		Tennessean (Nashville, TN) 7 Aug. 25/3: ‘We are playing footsie with some record companies’.

3. to waste time; to prevaricate.

1951		Bowers Mob [film] Let’s stop playing footsie with each other. You’re a cop [HDAS].
1953		F. Paley Rumble on the Docks (1955) 58: Don’t play footsie with us, Wimp! You know we knocked over a squarehead!
1978		(con. WWII) T. Sanchez Hollywoodland (1981) 144: There is no need for me doing this tango any longer ...] It’s pointless to play footsies in such a dangerous situation.