1 definition by Pearls-of-Wisdom
Nowadays mouseplay means to take a breather from work and to escape your boss it comes from the popular expression "when the cat's is away, the mice will play."
Mouseplay stems from the original usage by Shakespeare in 'Henry the Fifth,' in 1599 - "Playing the mouse in absence of the cat" (Act 1, Scene 2, Page 6, line 195). Older versions include the Latin proverb - "Dum felis dormit, mus gaudet et exsi litantro" – 'when the cat sleep, the mouse rejoices and exits the hole' and the French version - "Ou chat na rat regne" -
'Where there is no cat, the rat is king'
Mouseplay stems from the original usage by Shakespeare in 'Henry the Fifth,' in 1599 - "Playing the mouse in absence of the cat" (Act 1, Scene 2, Page 6, line 195). Older versions include the Latin proverb - "Dum felis dormit, mus gaudet et exsi litantro" – 'when the cat sleep, the mouse rejoices and exits the hole' and the French version - "Ou chat na rat regne" -
'Where there is no cat, the rat is king'
by Pearls-of-Wisdom August 6, 2017