1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 1 Those most miserable men..whiche imploy their busy cure & care, in stealing, Idlenes, vayn pastimes, long sleapes, dronkennes, lasciuious toying, swering, scraping and gatheryng of Plutos corne together.

1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Arguo Digitorum argutie, toyinges or gesturinges of the fingers: often mouyng.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Saffreté, wanton dallying, leacherous ieasting, lasciuious toying.

1726 W. R. Chetwood Voy. & Adventures Capt. R. Boyle 264 After our Toying was over, she told me she was afraid of losing me.

1856 Dublin Univ. Mag. June 660/2 The tendency to toying, being common to child and man, must be worthy of consideration; it is universal, it must therefore be natural.

1941 Sunday Times 2 Mar. 3/4 Unfortunately the vague psychological toyings of the rest of the story are not up to standard.

2005 Video Business (Nexis) 19 Sept. 18 The young people staying with him choose to ignore his actions, including his toying with a rifle.

1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. 1 Tim. iii. f. ix^v He must be graue & sad in his behauiour, in al thinges that he goeth about, and be voyde of all lyghtenesse and folishe toying maners, that decaye and hynder the teachers reuerence and autoritie.

1615 W. Goddard Neaste of Waspes sig. Bij^v The lyon fauours well the toying ape.

1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 155. ⁋4 None of these toying Fools will do any more..to preserve her from Infamy.

1805 J. Hoppner Oriental Tales vii. 96 Is Fortune blind?..Then where's the wonder, friends, that she, An idle, toying jade, should mark For favour, wights who love the dark!

1908 V. Brown Last Shore iv. 42 He did other things, all with a toying hand, and came to the conclusion that none of them was the thing he had been born to do.

2008 L. Borrill Unleashed i. 8 She spun around and pressed her back to the wall, the toying look in her eyes darkening to something serious while her hands went to work on his belt.