The politicians were accused of playing footsie behind the scenes to pass the controversial bill.

footsie 是名词，原指"脚碰脚"的游戏，引申为"暗中勾结"或"秘密交易"的意思。这个词来自foot（脚）加上指小后缀-sie，形象地描绘了偷偷摸摸的行为。在政治语境中常用来描述政客之间不光彩的私下交易。