going round in circles; game of cat and mouse; pointless and repetitive back-and-forthword usually written using kana aloneidiomatic expression
itachi-gokko; Edo-period children's game in which two players alternately pinch the back of the other's hands and stack them on top of each other while saying "itachi-gokko, nezumi-gokko"word usually written using kana alonehistorical termoriginal meaning