A: Are you coming to our soccer game this weekend?

B: I am in.

A: Your girlfriend can cheer on us.

B: Maybe not. It seems like she’s happy, but whenever I bring up our future she changes the subject. I bought her a diamond necklace last week and she told me she loved me. But then she said she’s busy this weekend. Do you think she’s just stringing me along?

A: Yes, she is obviously stringing you along.

Note: People would string farm animals along and lead them in a certain direction. To string someone along means to “maintain someone’s attention or interest, probably insincerely.” First appearing in the 1900s, this idiom also means to “fool or deceive someone.”