play chicken

informal To engage in a game or challenge, especially a dangerous one, in which the loser is the first person to yield or lose their nerve. There was a group of boys that liked to play chicken on the train tracks, until one of them got his foot stuck and died. A: "You really want to play chicken with me, nerd?" B: "I sure do. Bragging rights go to whoever manages to get the closest to the edge without steering their car away."