play Old Harry

Verb

play Old Harry (third-person singular simple present plays Old Harry, present participle playing Old Harry, simple past and past participle played Old Harry)

1. (idiomatic) To play the devil; to make mischief.
   • By his accent and innocent style I detected he was not a colonial, so I got him to relate his history. He was an Englishman by birth, but had been to America, Spain, New Zealand, Tasmania, &c.; by his own make out had ever been a man of note, and had played Old Harry everywhere.1901, Miles Franklin, “’Possum Gully Left Behind. Hurrah! Hurrah!”, in My Brilliant Career, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, page 60
   • Blenkiron and I have been moving in the best circles as skilled American engineers who are going to play Old Harry with the British on the Tigris.1916, John Buchan, Greenmantle