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Glite Dictionary
hare and hounds

hare and hounds

8.8
A running game where some runners leave a trail and others follow to catch them
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : caza del liebre
  • The club organized a hare and hounds event, drawing participants from neighboring towns.

Examples

  • At the picnic, the children played hare and hounds across the open fields.

  • We enjoyed a lively session of hare and hounds on Saturday morning.

  • They organized a hare and hounds event last weekend.

  • The hare and hounds game was challenging but fun.

  • The club organized a hare and hounds event, drawing participants from neighboring towns.

  • At the picnic, the children played hare and hounds across the open fields.

  • We enjoyed a lively session of hare and hounds on Saturday morning.

Synonyms

paper chase
vshare and hounds
  • Archaic
7.7

A game where some players run ahead leaving bits of paper while others follow to catch them before the finish

leaves a trail without naming the trail material

Surface Forms

hare and hounds singular
hare and hounds plural

Morphology

hare + and + hound

Knowing 'hare' and 'hound' will signal to a B1 learner that the phrase involves hares and hounds and likely a chase, so there is a partial, literal cue. However, the specific sense—an organised running game where people play the roles and lay a trail—is a culturalised, conventionalised meaning that is not fully predictable from the parts alone. Because the constituents give a general idea but not the precise game meaning, this is best labelled semi-transparent.

Etymology

Hare and hounds comes from the picture of a hunt: a fast rabbit, a hare, runs away and hunting dogs, the hounds, follow its path. In the game the hares leave a 'trail' and the hounds follow to try to 'catch' them, so the name describes the chasing game.