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.

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

     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.