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to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds

to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds

9.9
To support two opposite sides at the same time
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : no se puede estar en dos bandos
  • Whenever a controversial issue arose, the politician would run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.

Examples

  • You can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds if you want people to trust you.

  • She was accused of trying to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds during the negotiations.

  • Don't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds in this debate!

  • Sarah often runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds in her job.

  • The manager was criticized for trying to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds by appealing to both sides during the conflict.

  • In his quest for popularity, the mayor often runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds, alienating his core supporters.

  • To maintain harmony in the office, he tends to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds whenever colleagues disagree.

Synonyms

to have it both ways
vsto run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
  • Informal
27 7.2

To try to get the good parts of two opposite choices at the same time

tries to please both sides rather than to gain advantage
to serve two masters
vsto run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
4 8.2

To try to please two people or groups who want different things and fail to please either

tries to please both sides but does not stress impossibility
to hold with the hare and run with the hounds
vsto run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
  • Informal
9.9

To support two opposite sides at the same time to please both

tries to please both without implying opportunism
a foot in both camps
vsto run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
7.5

To be involved with two opposing groups at the same time

tries to support or please both sides rather than just be involved

Antonyms

to take sides
39 3.1

To support one side in an argument

How Loyal

to stand by
187 3.2
to take sides
39 3.1
to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
  • Archaic
9.9
to betray
397 4.2

Surface Forms

run with the hare and hunt with the hounds infinitive
ran with the hare and hunted with the hounds past
run with the hare and hunt with the hounds past participle
running with the hare and hunting with the hounds present participle
runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds third person singular

Morphology

run + with + the + hare + and + hunt + with + the + hound

The phrase juxtaposes two literal actions — running with the hare (on the hare's side) and hunting with the hounds (on the hunters' side) — so a learner who knows the constituent words can reconstruct the conflicting image and infer that someone is trying to support both opposing sides. However, it is a conventional proverb-like idiom relying on cultural/world knowledge about hunting and opposition, so the meaning is not fully predictable from composition alone.

Etymology

The saying run with the hare and hunt with the hounds comes from hunting scenes where a hare is the animal and the hounds are the dogs that chase it. If someone tries to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds at the same time, they are acting like they are on both sides, so today the phrase means 'to try to please or support two opposite sides at once'.