This might be a very peculiar question, and I know you all love peculiar questions (hahaha). I'm sure there's an idiom for this but I can't really remember which.

Let's say you're walking on a very narrow sidewalk, and there's someone coming opposite you, when both of you meet each other, one of you has to step aside and give the other person some room so that the other person can come by you and continue walking, right? Now say you went either way and you end up going to the same direction the person went and you kept moving trying to give this person some room, but they kept moving to the same side and both of you end up dancing with each other. What do you call that? I swear to God there's an idiom for this!!! It has something to do with the word "dancing" but I can't remember it!

  • "Boxing out" is a similar concept in the sports of Track and Field and Cross Country Running. If a runner is trying to pass another runner, but the front runner uses moves like this to prevent the other runner from passing them, the front runner is "boxing out" the runner attempting to pass. "Boxing out" is against the rules, but does not need to involve "interfering with the other runner's stride". A runner can be disqualified from a race for either "boxing out" or "interfering with another runner's stride". In "boxing out"'s context, both people are running in the same direction. – Jasper Mar 9 at 5:12

Responses to the same question on the English Language & Usage StackExchange gives "step-and-slide" and "pedestrian jig".

Urban Dictionary offers the "sidewalk shuffle".

Are any of these the thing you're thinking of?

I've also heard it just called "dancing" but nothing cleverer than that.

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