Tiddlywinks
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A competitive game in which the objective is to flick as many small discs (each called a tiddlywink or wink) as possible into a container (the pot) by pressing on their edges with a larger disc (a shooter or squidger), causing them to jump up from the surface on which they are placed. also, attributive, plural, plural-only
"Can any of your correspondents inform me what is the derivation of the word "kiddlewink," or "tiddledy winks"? A friend tells me in the Midland Counties it denotes a house where beer is sold without a licence. Lately a game has been introduced here bearing the name of "Tiddledywinks.""
- 2 plural of tiddlywink form-of, plural
- 3 a game in which players try to flip plastic disks into a cup by pressing them on the side sharply with a larger disk wordnet
- 4 Especially in the form to play tiddlywinks: a meaningless or unimportant activity. figuratively, plural, plural-only
- 1 third-person singular simple present indicative of tiddlywink form-of, indicative, present, singular, third-person
Example
More examples"Can any of your correspondents inform me what is the derivation of the word "kiddlewink," or "tiddledy winks"? A friend tells me in the Midland Counties it denotes a house where beer is sold without a licence. Lately a game has been introduced here bearing the name of "Tiddledywinks.""
Etymology
From tiddlywink + -s, possibly from tiddly (“(informal) little, tiny”) + wink (“blinking of one eye”), perhaps borrowed from tiddlywink, etymology 1 (“unlicensed beerhouse or pawnshop; game played using dominoes”, etc.). The game was patented by a British bank clerk, Joseph Assheton Fincher (1863–1900), on 19 October 1889, and the name Tiddledy-Winks trademarked by him the same year. Tiddlywinks is the preferred modern spelling; the earliest known use of this spelling dates from 1894.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.