Verb
play both ends against the middle (third-person singular simple present plays both ends against the middle, present participle playing both ends against the middle, simple past and past participle played both ends against the middle)
Alternative form of play both sides against the middle
The West should be tougher on Pakistan. It is trying to play both ends against the middle - to look like the friend of the revolutionaries on the one hand and a friend of the West in the fight against terrorism. It can't be both things. Salman Rushdie