OT Tag

[The Medway Handyman]

Interesting (well, to me anyway). Within the same conversation we

> have two different terms for cash-in-hand work.

To highjack Hugos point, I've always been fascinated by a couple of childhood terms. One would be the game of 'tag', 'last touch' or 'it' - we always called it 'he' for some reason (in east London, where I was brung up).

The second is related to the game above; if you wanted immunity for a brief period - to tie a shoelace for example - you would call out 'feignites' (not sure of exact spelling), then rejoin the game without penalty.

So, what was the game called where you lived and what was the 'feignites' alternative?

[Ron Lowe]

Can't remember what I did, but...

Our kids call it 'tag', and if they need immunity, they grab a nearby object ( lamp-post for example ) or stand in some well-defined spot and declare it 'dells'. So long as they maintain contact with the declared object, or remain on the spot, it seems to be effective.

[Cicero]

================================== The game is 'tag', and timeout is called by 'ballas' or 'ballers' (nearly rhyming with 'ballet') in the home of Matchstick men.

Cic.

[Andy Hall]

'feignies' I thought..... (SP)

[Clive George]

Tig. Never had an equivalent to "feignites".

"Can't tig your butcher" was a rule which baffled my wife when I first mentioned it - so what were equivalents of that?

cheers, clive

[The Medway Handyman]

Ah. Interesting. We didn't have to hold anything, but we had to cross our fingers. I'd forgotton that bit.

[Frank Erskine]

'Tiggy' around here; and temporary immunity was 'skinch'.

[Rob Hamadi]

messagenews:VuMkj.80524$c [e-mail]...

We called it Tig too. Our equivalent of the butcher thing was "no backsies".

-- Rob

[geoff]

Now you've got me thinking - what DID we used to call a "time out" ?

Ands when someone in authority was coming along, the call was "KV"

[geoff]

backsies being, of course, when you had your fingers crossed behind your back

[Bob Eager]

That'd derive from the Latin 'cave' - Beware!

(as in 'cave canem' or, round here, 'cave felix').

[Happy Hunter]

Scotland (west coast)

game was called Tig

and temporary immunity I think was "keys" and holding your thumb(s) up. I think anyway !!

My nine year old, now tells me it's "timeout" and make a T sign using 2 hands to form the T.

[Steve Walker]

It was "tig" and "pads" on my street....

[Andy Hall]

You need to ration his viewing of American television :-)

[Cicero]

================================== I think this derives from basketball thus:

[Rob Hamadi]

I'd remembered it as barring the tiggee from immediately re-tigging his tigger, at least round my way. You could well be right though, it was some time ago...

-- Rob

[Rob Hamadi]

Now that you mention it, "skinch" rings a bell with me too.

-- Rob

[Neil]

fainites or fains: a cry for truce or respite from the rules of a game. from old french *se feindre* in the sense: back out, esp. of battle.

[Hugo Nebula]

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 18:34:29 GMT, a particular chimpanzee, "The Medway Handyman" randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

In Liverpool the game was Tic or Tick (never saw it written down) and a truce was called by crossing one's fingers and shouting, 'Barley'.

[Roger]

The message from "The Medway Handyman" contains these words:

I seem to remember calling tag 'he' (or possibly the chaser) but I am sure we called the above variant off-ground touch. That would have been in the playground of Main Road Primary School , Dovercourt (back in the early 50s). At this distance in time I don't remember playing it elsewhere although I do have vague recollections of something similar on the local roller skating rink. (Oh happy days!)