tiddlywinks

== English == === 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. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈtɪdəlɪwɪŋks/, /ˈtɪdlɪ-/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈtɪdliˌwɪŋks/ Hyphenation: tid‧dly‧winks === Noun === tiddlywinks pl (plural only) (also attributively) 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. Synonym: (informal) winks (figuratively) Especially in the form to play tiddlywinks: a meaningless or unimportant activity. ==== Alternative forms ==== Tiddledy-Winks Tiddley Winks tiddleywinks tidley winks (dated, chiefly 1920s–1940s) ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== === Noun === tiddlywinks plural of tiddlywink === Verb === tiddlywinks third-person singular simple present indicative of tiddlywink === References === === Further reading === tiddlywinks on Wikipedia.Wikipedia “tiddlywink, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2022.