hold with the hare and run with the hounds
To oppose an action or behavior and yet engage in the same action or behaviorTo oppose an action or behavior and yet engage in the same action or behavior; to be a hypocrite.
Meaning
2 senses(dated, idiomatic)To oppose an action or behavior and yet engage in the same action or behavior; to be a hypocrite.
Well, if you ask me, Pastor Hawkins is trying to hold with the hare and run with the hounds by opposing casino gambling when his church operates a bingo game every Thursday night.
(dated, idiomatic)To remain neutral by attempting to placate two factions or both sides of a controversy.
Julianna needs to be careful if she keeps holding with the hare and running with the hounds; she might wind up making enemies of both labor and management.
Translations
1 languagesForms
holds with the hare and runs with the hounds, holding with the hare and running with the hounds, held with the hare and ran with the hounds, held with the hare and run with the hounds| Base form | hold with the hare and run with the hounds · to hold with the hare and run with the hounds |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | holds with the hare and runs with the hounds |
| Present participle | holding with the hare and running with the hounds |
| Past simple | held with the hare and ran with the hounds |
| Past participle | held with the hare and run with the hounds |
irregular · Lesson
Present simpleLesson
| I, you, we, they | hold with the hare and run with the hounds |
| he, she, it | holds with the hare and runs with the hounds |
Past simpleLesson
| all persons | held with the hare and ran with the hounds |
Present perfectLesson
| I, you, we, they | have held with the hare and run with the hounds |
| he, she, it | has held with the hare and run with the hounds |
Future simple (will)Lesson
| all persons | will hold with the hare and run with the hounds |
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.