toy with

toy with (third-person singular simple present toys with, present participle toying with, simple past and past participle toyed with)

1. To handle something in a careless or frivolous manner.

   You shouldn't toy with someone's feelings.

   • 2013, Daniel Taylor, Steven Gerrard goal against Poland ensures England will go to World Cup (in The Guardian, 15 October 2013)

     Roy Hodgson's team had toyed with everyone's nerves. They had come across a Poland side that gave everything on a night when Wembley often sounded more like Warsaw, and Gerrard's late, decisive strike came at a stage of the night when England's management was thinking about little more than protecting Wayne Rooney's first-half goal.

2. To play, especially with or as with a toy.