Stroboscopic photo of a wink being potted in the game of tiddlywinks The North American Tiddlywinks Association
T i d d l y w i n k s !
Home · Search · Intro · FAQ · Rules · History · Lexicon · Tournaments · Ratings · Equipment · Songs
Game Collector · Bibliography · Publications · Winkers · Contacts · Press · New Club · Site Map · Legal
Share |

Lexicon of Tiddlywinks

Seventh Edition, July 2009 ... ©1994-2009 Richard W. Tucker. All Rights Reserved.

* - 1 - A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Winks has a vocabulary and subculture all its own. For instance, you might overhear at a tournament "I can't pot my nurdled wink, so I'll piddle you free and you can boondock a red. But if Sunshine gromps the double, I'll lunch a blue next time." In English this translates to "My wink is too close to the cup to pot it, so instead, I'll gently shoot you out from under the pile and you can shoot an opponent's red wink off the table. But if Sunshine (a winker) captures two of our winks with only one of his, I'll pot an opponent's blue wink (sometimes a useful strategy) on my next turn."

The Lexicon of Tiddlywinks, compiled by Rick Tucker, documents the words of winkdom from its invention in 1888 to the formation of the Cambridge University Tiddlywinks Club in 1955 to the present day.

Also check out tiddlywinks as it is known in many other languages.

Many thanks to those who have contributed to the lexicon, including Richard Moore, Charles Relle, Jon Mapley, and Fred Shapiro.

This edition includes exemplary citations for some entries, in much the same manner as in the Oxford English Dictionary. However, I need your help! I would greatly appreciate your uninhibited comments on the definitions, your suggestions for additions and improvements, etc. I particularly need help in identifying Briticisms vs. Americanisms. Even though I have copyrighted this, I am permitting members of NATwA, ETwA, and ScotTwA to reproduce it for free distribution.

*

1* · n Sunshine, an American winker

2* · the symbol for a potout on a scoresheet

1

11 Khartoum Road (UK) · n a British team

A

AGM (UK) · n Annual General Meeting

agt (rare/obscure) = abbreviation for alt.games.tiddlywinks

Alleghany Airlines Book Club Presents (US) · n a publication by Sunshine in February 1976 describing tiddlywinks perversions. [From Allegheny (note "e" rather than "a") Airlines, an airline company (which became USAir and is now US Airways).]

Alliance (US) · a US team of the 1980s

alt.games.tiddlywinks · n name of the original Usenet newsgroup for tiddlywinks on the Internet

amigos (UK, now obscure) · n the act of swallowing a pint of whatever in one gulp [CUTwC, 1980s] See also sideways amigos

approach shot · n a shot with the objective of placing a wink at a particular position on the mat, sometimes near a target pile, without an intent to squop

area · part of the mat dominated by the winks of, or containing squops or piles chiefly controlled by one color or partnership, into which an opponent is usually reluctant to venture

autoboondock = (US) 2boondock

autosquop (UK) = sub (Cohen, 1977)

B

backstop · n a wink, pile, or the pot which is hit by a wink with the intention of slowing or stopping the motion of the wink being shot.

baseline · n a line near each corner of the mat behind which winks are placed at the beginning of a game. This line is perpendicular to the diagonal of the mat and is three feet from the center of the mat.

baseline pot (UK) · n variation of winks in which squopping the opponent is not allowed. If this happens accidentally, the winks are desquopped. = (US) potting game

Beady (UK) · onetime nickname of British winker Geoff Myers

beaker (rare, obsolete) = n pot. (Hull Guildhall, 1962, in Winking World 4, page 11)

Betty's Boys (UK) · team formed by Stew Sage and Richard Moore, first appearing in the ETwA Teams of Four in 1988 (earlier known as "Sideways Amigos", q.v.)

big (US) · n a large wink

Big Six (US) · n six major championships: NATwA Singles, NATwA Pairs, ETwA Singles, ETwA Pairs, World Singles, World Pairs  (prior to ScotTwA's arrival on the scene with the Scottish Pairs in the early 1990s.)

birthday present (US) · n an opponent play which results in an unexpectedly easy shot for a gain.

BIT (US) · n Boston Invitational Tournament, or generically, a tournament with a varying format, e.g. a BIT-like tournament.

blitz· n an attempt to pot out when opponent winks are not under control, particularly before the time limit has been reached. Also vi.

blowup (US) · n a shot, usually forceful, that separates winks in a pile

blunt (US) · adj describing a round-edged squidger such as those that were provided in sets made by Marchant Games. Contrast with sharp squidger. [Originator:  Daniel Sachs at 1994 Individual Pairs, Wheaton, Maryland.]

board (Relle) · table or mat ["off the ~"]

Bob-rookie strategy (US) · n a strategy of focusing solely on squopping the better player of an opponent partnership, while ignoring the weaker player, usually applied when the difference in skill is great. [Named after Bob Henninge, who often played with novice winkers.]

bomb · n a shot in which a wink is shot toward a target pile, usually from a distance, with the objective of knocking one or more winks out of the pile. Also vt.

Bombay Bowl (UK) · tournament between the four "home unions" in Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland) which has now lapsed [Started 1 May 1960; name was a play on "Calcutta Cup", an England-Scotland Rugby Football match]

Bonham recording system (rare) · n a method for transcribing the shots and results of a tiddlywinks game (Winking World 5; ETwA E2, 1964)

boon (US) =1boondock [a clipped form of boondock]

1boondock · n a shot in which a squopped wink is freed and comes to rest far from the center of action in a game, or is sent off the mat. Also vt. [circa 1971, US]

2boondock· n a perversion in which the goal is to pot all of a color's winks, and when a wink is squopped, it is returned to its baseline. See Alleghany Airlines Book Club Presents for the rules.

boondock and squop · n A shot which produces two results: a wink is boondocked, and the shooting wink comes to rest on another wink, squopping it.

bounce-in · n a wink that bounces on the mat before entering the pot.

bounce out · vi to shoot a wink that enters the pot but hits the interior of the pot or a wink inside the pot and comes out of the pot. Also n. (Winking World 1, page 4)

brace (Relle) vt = bridge. [First used by John Furlonger, 1961 or before] n (Relle) any two winks close together

bridge · vt to shoot a wink to squop two winks, neither of which are squopping the other. n a pile in which two winks are bridged. (Edwards, in Partridge, 1984)

bring-in · n a squidge-in or an approach shot from a distance.

bristol (also B-) n·  a gromp shot in which the face of the squidger is held perpendicular to the wink being played, and roughly parallel to the intended direction of the shot. Also vt. [from University of Bristol in England, where the shot originated.]

bristol good (also B-, G-) · n a shot in which the squidger is held as for a bristol, with an intended trajectory as in a Good shot. = (UK) Cambridge Good

bristollable (US) · a pile or squop in which the winks are positioned suitably for a bristol shot

bucket (UK) = n pot

butt · n a shot where a wink hits the edge of a target wink, usually with the objective of knocking the target wink off a pile. Also vt.

butt under · a shot, sometimes intentional, which rather than squopping the target wink nudges it under an existing pile

C

Cambridge blue · n a pale turquoise (also known as 'duck-egg green') colored wink or squidger that came in tiddlywinks sets from Marchant Games in the late 1960s; this color was used instead of blue, which was missing from these sets.

Cambridge Good (UK) = bristol good

Cambridge Open · British tournament, similar to an Individual Pairs but not so systematic; partners and opponents are drawn completely randomly each round. The player with the highest ppg is the winner.

Cannonball · n onetime nickname of Bill Renke in the early 1970s.

carno (also C-) (US) · n = carnovsky [a clipped form of carnovsky]

carnovsky (also C-) · vi, vt to pot a wink from a corner, usually a squidge-in of an unplayed wink. n a shot in which a wink was Carnovskied. [named after Steve Carnovsky, Harvard player in 1962, popularized in Life magazine.]

Carpenter's Fan Club (UK) · name used by WETS when competing in the ETwA Teams of Four; 1989-90 holders of the trophy

carve out (UK) = piddle

Catford Invitation · exclusive invitation tournament held at the home of, and under the influence of the cider of, Charles Relle

Chickens Courageous · n a US team formed from the TKOs.

Chickenhearts · n a US team combining Chickens Courageous and the Hearts of Oak (Coeurs de Chêne).

chip (UK) = piddle

Christmas pile · n a pile consisting of only green and red winks.

Christmas present = birthday present

circular squop · n (US; obsolete in UK) a pile in which all winks are squopped; sometimes, a pile of two winks with this property. In the UK, known as Thorpe's ring.

click off · n a shot in which a wink is removed from on top of another wink, where the squidger stroke stops abruptly by clicking on this other wink. Also vt.

click shot · n a shot played on a wink which is squopping another wink. The squidger's stroke on the played wink stops abruptly on this other wink, causing a sharp click sound. The other wink typically is intended to be left unmoved by this shot.

climb up (US) · vi to shoot a wink that bounces off the exterior side of the pot on its trajectory which leads into the pot.

Closet of Fame (US) · n a repository of tiddlywinks memorabilia in Bill Renke's house.

1color order· n the prescribed official order of play of winks during a game: the cycle blue, green, red, and yellow (the alphabetical order of the colors in the English language)

2color order · n the tactical recognition of the importance of dealing with one color rather than another because of the ramifications of the order in which those colors play

color preference · n the desire of a partnership to play the winks of one color partnership (typically red and blue) rather than the other a query made prior to the commencement of a game to determine whether a partnership has a color preference

comb · vt to remove loose fluff from the mat with a comb

concave up · adj until the 1980s, nearly all winks had a slightly concave side and a slightly convex side. Concave side up was considered preferable by many winkers for most shots.

Congress · n Annual meeting of NATwA or ETwA members

constipated · adj a tactical situation in which all winks of a color (or a partnership, or all players) are busy squopping other winks and sometimes busy protecting piles.

Continentals (US) · n the NATwA team championship tournament that was traditionally held in February and first held in 1967. [Referring to the North American continent, the domain of NATwA.]

Cornell · n a US team from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.

corner · n the area behind a baseline on the mat.

counter (obsolete) = n wink (Hull Guildhall, 1962, in Winking World 4, page 11)

counterblitz · n an attempt to blitz by an opponent of a player that already has begun to blitz

Crown & Centipede · n a US team formed by Severin Drix

crud (UK) · n, vt = blowup. See also megacrud. (Winking World 5, page 5)

cuddle (US) · v to shoot a wink close to a pile, generally within a wink's diameter

Cullingham squop (UK) · Two winks both leaning against the pot but not touching. The top wink is a big wink, the bottom wink is a small one.

cup = n pot

CUTwC · n \CUT wuck\ Cambridge University Tiddlywinks Club, formed in 1955 and still active.

D

dance (US) · n the movements of a wink that is twirling around in the pot or on the mat before coming to rest.

Dave Taylor (UK) = Gottesman [after Dave Taylor, former CUTwC winker]

DB (US) = double boondock

DC5 (US) · n five NATwA winkers residing in the Washington DC metropolitan area: Dave Lockwood, Larry Kahn, Jim Marlin, Brad Schaefer, and Rick Tucker. [after the Dave Clark Five musical group of the 1960s; usage dates from the late 1980s to 1994, when Brad moved to Connecticut]

dead (US) · adj said of a mat with inadequate resilience

Debby Boone (US) = double boondock [Debby Boone, American singer.]

Delrin · n a plastic material sometimes used to make squidgers, generally black or white. First used by Rick Tucker in the early 1980s. [Trademark of duPont]

denurdle · vi, vt to remove a wink from proximity to the pot, either by shooting that wink or by knocking it away with another wink

desquop (UK) · vi to manually free a wink, e.g. after a potout, failure-to-free (under the pre-1992 ETwA rules), or illegal shot (Winking World 1, page 2)

dock (UK) = boondock. (Devlin, 1985)

Dr. Fatty (UK) · onetime nickname of British winker Nick Inglis

Dr. Superfatty (UK) · onetime nickname of British winker Stew Sage

dominant corners · n the pair of diagonally-opposite corners of a mat that are considered more desirable than the other pair of corners. When a player is standing behind a dominant corner, his right side is near the long (six foot) side of the mat, and his left side is near the short (three foot) side of the mat. [1990s]

double (US) · n a pile in which two winks are squopped by one wink. vt to shoot to create a double

double blitz · n simultaneous blitz attempts by both colors of a partnership

double boondock · n a boondock which sends two (opponent) winks far away

double-pot · n a game strategy in which both players of a partnership attempt to pot out. Such a strategy rarely succeeds in modern winks.

1double-squop · n a game strategy in which both players of a partnership attempt to control their opponents by squopping, without intending to pot their own winks until control is obtained. (Winking World 4, page 8)

2double squop (rare) · n a shot that sends two friendly winks towards two different target winks, often in different directions

doubleton (UK) = n double. [Originated by Relle; derived from the term in the game of bridge]

drag off · vi, vt to knock a wink off another wink, leaving it nearby

Dragon · nickname of American winker Dave Lockwood

Dragon Cup (US) · n a tournament sponsored by Dave Lockwood in 1979. Later, a challenge singles match (best score in five games), starting in 1989, patterned after ETwA's Jubilee Singles. [Dragon, nickname of Dave Lockwood]

drop-kick · vi (obsolete) [To be provided.]

drunken wink · n a wink that rolls and slides along the mat in an unexpectedly meandering fashion

DuPont, send it to (US, obscure/obsolete) · boondock with considerable force, with the intention of sending the boondocked wink off the table [Originally used by Dave Pinckney to Fred Shapiro, referring to sending the wink in the direction of the DuPont gymnasium, a building adjacent to the MIT Student Center; late 1970s. However, Fred thought he heard "send it to the pot"]

E

eat = (US) vt squop

egg cup = (rare) n pot

Eggs · n nickname of E. A. Willis

ETwA, Etwa · n English Tiddlywinks Association, founded in 1958

ETwAn · n a member of ETwA

F

failure to free · n a situation during a game after one partnership has played its free turns resulting from squopping out its opponents, and has not freed any opponent winks

feeb (US) · vi to make a poor attempt at a shot, usually in reference to a short squop attempt in which the shooting wink falls short of its target. Also n. [clipped from feeble] See also poss and George Michael

felt · n the material with which all officially-sanctioned mats have been made

Ferd · n ("Ferd the Bull") American winker Peter Wulkan

fiat vincs ruat cælum · let winks be played, though the heavens crumble; NATwA motto.

fiber-based phenolic· n a plastic material sometimes used to make squidgers, generally brown. First used by Rick Tucker

five-way pot-squop · n a perversion in which five colors are employed. See Alleghany Airlines Book Club Presents for the rules

flat (UK) · adj said of an unsquopped wink in play

flat wink (UK) · n an unsquopped wink in play

Fleas · n an encyclopedic publication by Fred Shapiro that appeared in November 1978. [From fleas, the name for the game of tiddlywinks in many languages, e.g. jeu de puce (French).]

flexible squidger · n a squidger made of nonrigid plastic, often a bottle-top or (especially in Britain) a phonecard or credit card

flip · n a shot which results in at least one wink coming to rest on its other side. Also vt.

flog · n a perversion in which players pot winks. See Alleghany Airlines Book Club Presents for the rules. ["golf", backwards] ·

fluff · n a pilled tuft of felt from the mat

foreign visitor rule · n a ruling by IFTwA which grants the highest-placing national contestant (in a national championship) the right to challenge the world champions should the winner of the national championship include a foreigner. (Early 1980s)

foul shot (UK) · n a shot that is contrary to the rules of tiddlywinks

four-color game · n the official game of tiddlywinks, in which four sets of colored winks are used, six each of blue, green, red, and yellow

four pot relay · n an event recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records that involves four winkers each potting winks into his or her own pot for a specified length of time. When the first winker pots a wink, the second winker removes it and pots it into the second pot, and so on until having potted it into all four pots

fractional score · n a game score of 5 1/2 to 1 1/2, 4 2/3 to 2 1/3, 4 1/2 to 2 1/2, or 3 1/2 to 3 1/2 in the official four-color game of tiddlywinks

free· vt, vi to get a squopped wink out of a pile as a result of a shot

free turns · n The turns awarded a partnership which has squopped-out the opponent partnership

free wink · n a wink which is not squopped, not in the pot, and has been played from the baseline

fuzz = fluff

G

game point · n in the official four-color game of tiddlywinks, a total of 7 points, of which 4 are awarded to the color with the most time-limit points, 2 to the next color, 1 to the next, and 0 to the remaining color. 1 point is transferred to the winning partnership in the event of a potout

George Michael (UK) (rare) = feeb [early 1980s]

Gill n· location of NATwA's 25th anniversary reunion, in 1991 [Gill, Massachusetts]

Good (also g-) · vt, vi to perform a Good shot on a wink

Good shot · n a shot in which a played wink causes another wink to be moved (typically knocked off another wink) as a result of the played wink's pressure on the wink from the bottom face or edge of the moved wink. [Invented by John Good of MIT, 1972.]

Goode shot = Good shot "Goode" is a misspelling]

Goons · n a BBC radio comedy troupe from the 1950s that played CUTwC in March 1958 at the request of Prince Philip, to defend his honor. The Goons included Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe, and others

Gottesman (US) · n a game strategy in which each wink that is brought in from the baseline is potted before subsequent winks of that color are brought in. [Named after Mike Gottesman of Harvard, 1966.] = (UK) Dave Taylor

grand tour (US) · n the path of a wink that rolls around the pot or through areas where other winks are located

gromp · n a shot which moves a pile of winks to squop a wink. Also vt.

Gromper's Gazette · n NATwA newsletter appearing in 1992

guard (UK) · n a solo wink near a friendly pile

Guinness Book of Records (UK) · a book documenting exemplary feats, including tiddlywinks records. The US edition omitted tiddlywinks for many years

Guinness Trophy (UK) = Bombay Bowl

GUTS · n Gargoyle Undergraduate Tiddlywinks Society at Harvard, 1962-1964

H

hairy's den (UK, now rare) · n an area totally dominated by the opposition [Bancroft]

Hampshire Open Pairs · tournament played annually at Southampton

Horsemeat · n nickname of Larry Kahn

HOTT · n (US) Halloween Open Teams Tournament

Hyth · n short for HYTHNLBTWOC

HYTHNLBTWOC · n \HITH n'l BIT wok\ (US) Hark yon tree hath no leaves but they will out club, a team formed by Sunshine. [First played in the February 1970 Continentals. Named by members of the team, each team member adding a word to the name]

I

idiot's delight · n trying to pot a wink into a pot that is held in the hand and used as a squidger on the wink. See Alleghany Airlines Book Club Presents for the rules

IFTwA · n \IF twa\ International Federation of Tiddlywinks Associations

Ilkeston Toys · n name of a British toy company that supplied tiddlywinks equipment in the early 1970s; formed by the owner of Marchant Games, Hughes Rudd

illegal shot (US) = foul shot

Indian rule (US) · n a convention in which blue squidges-off first, either green or yellow next, and then the color partnering the closer wink to the cup squidges-off. [Named for Saul Agranoff (Indian), who proposed it, mid-1970s].

Individual Pairs (IP) · n a type of tournament during which each winker partners each other winker in the match; the individual with the highest total of match points is designated the winner [The first NATwA Individual Pairs was held on 28 April 1984]

Individuals = Individual Pairs

International Federation of Tiddlywinks Associations (IFTwA) · n the international organization that oversees the activities of recognized national tiddlywinks associations (currently ETwA and NATwA), conducts World tiddlywinks championships (World Pairs, World Singles, and other events), and addresses any differences among the national associations.

IP (US) abbreviation for Individual Pairs

J

jab shot (US) · n a type of shot in which the squidger is forcefully applied to a wink in a short, straight motion

John Lennon memorial shot (UK) = boondock and squop.

Jubilee Singles (UK) · n a singles match in which anyone may challenge the current champion to a match in which the best score in five games wins

judge (US) · n a third party called in to decide a dispute between two players. In Britain, the term generally used is umpire, although judge is used when the matter in question is the legality of a shot

jump in (US) · vi to send winks into an area that the opponents control

junior birdman (US) · n a bomb shot during which a wink is shot high into the air towards the target. The British term is Port Stanley

K

kick = butt (Cohen, 1977)

kickshot (UK)(obsolete) · n a shot in which the wink is potted after bouncing on the mat (Winking World 5, page 5, 1964)

knock off · adj said of a shot played with the aim of disturbing another pile or squop and hopefully freeing friendly winks

knock-off-and-squop · adj said of a shot played to free a friendly wink and squop the opponent who was originally squopping the target pile or squop

kumquat (US, now rare/obscure) · n a variant of a persimmon in which three players play the two colors of a partnership in a game, with one player shooting one color regularly, and the other two players alternating shots with the other color. (October 1978, Harvest tournament.) [From kumquat, the fruit. See persimmon.]

L

L · n American winker Richard Hussong

launch · vt to shoot a wink from atop another wink, using it as a launching pad

launching pad · n the wink(s) below the shooting wink that can be clicked against to send the shooting wink sharply and with a low trajectory to bomb a pile

Lennon (UK) = John Lennon memorial shot

line = baseline

linear squop · n a sequence of three or more winks in which each wink (but one) is squopping just one other wink

lip · n upper rim of the pot

little (US) ·  a small wink

London Open · a pairs tournament played annually in London

lose (UK) = vt 1boondock

lunch · vt to pot an opponent's wink

LUSTS · n Latymer Upper School Tiddlywinks Society

M

Mad Dog · onetime nickname of British winker Andy Purvis

Marchant Games · n an English company that supplied tiddlywinks sets to ETwA and NATwA during the late 1950s, the 1960s, and the early 1970s

Marchant Trophy (UK) · tournament for teams of four, played over the years to different formats and now practically in abeyance. Originally a challenge trophy for all-England champions. Trophy was presented originally by Marchant Games [Started in February 1959]

mat · n the surface on which the game of tiddlywinks is played, which is 6 feet long 3 feet wide, and normally made of felt

mat rotation · n system ensuring that in a serious tournament a player cannot play on the same mats too frequently

match points = game points

megacrud (UK) · n an illegal crud shot where the squidger starts high above the intended wink on a pile which is being shot

Mickey Mouse · n A form of tripleton where the squopped winks are flat and separate, usually all small, so that when squopped, two ears and a mouth/nose stick out [Bancroft]

middle for diddle (UK, especially Relle) · a cry of encouragement preceding the squidge-off

Milton Bradley · n a US manufacturer of tiddlywinks for the general market; usage generally connotes a quality insufficient for tournament play

minimum (US) · n a minimum-sized squidger, 25mm (formerly 1 inch) in diameter

mint-jelly squidger (UK, now rare/obscure) · n a squidger made of nonrigid plastic, but somewhat more than credit card thickness; often from the lid of a jar of Sainsbury's Mint Jelly (see Winking World 49, page 23)

miracle shot (US) · n a shot that attempts to accomplish objectives which are very unlikely to be achievable

miss-a-turn rule (US) · n the rule that is in effect when players of a game have opted not to use the perimeter rule when a player's wink goes off the playing surface. [First use: June 1993, NATwA Singles]

Missing Wink, The · n a publication of NATwA that appeared from May 1974 to November 1976, during the absence of Newswink. [From "missing link"]

MIT · n a US team

MITASS · n Massachusetts Institute of Technology Association of Squidgers and Squoppers

MITwA = n MITTwA

MITTwA · n Massachusetts Institute of Technology Tiddlywinks Association

mobile wink · n a wink that is not part of a pile or in the pot. Compare with free wink

M.U.B. · n onetime nickname of British winker Richard Moore [= Miserable Unshaven Bastard; see Winking World 52, report of London Open]

Muenster (US, now obscure) · n a particular large yellow wink of Walmsleys manufacture that is much thicker on one edge than the other [played by Sunshine since the 1970s]

murgatroyd (UK) (obsolete) · n a badly manufactured Walmsleys wink that is flat on both sides. [Edwards, in Partridge, 1984]

MUTS · n MIT Undergraduate Tiddlywinks Society, circa 1962

My Winkly Reader · n a publication of NATwA that appeared from February 1977 to March 1978, during the absence of Newswink [From My Weekly Reader, a publication for elementary school children]

N

NAC (US, rare) · n North American Championship

NATwA · n North American Tiddlywinks Association, founded in 1966

NATwAn · n a member of NATwA

Newswink · n official publication of NATwA, 1969 to present. [From Newsweek, a US weekly news magazine]

NEWTS (UK) · n New London Tiddlywinks Society

nominated wink (UK) · a wink of any color that has been selected by a squopped-out pair to be shot as a consequence of the opponents' failure to free [ETwA rules, May 1992]

nurdle · vt to shoot a wink to land in a nurdled position. (Hull Guildhall, 1962, in Winking World 4, page 11)

nurdle, boondock, penhaligon (UK) · n British drinking game based on counting

nurdled · adj describing a wink that is very close to the pot, typically beneath the top rim of the pot and hence probably not easy to pot

NUTS · n National Undergraduate Tiddlywinks Society (US), 1962-1966

NW · abbreviation for Newswink

O

OAK-BYTE, Oakbyte (US) · n 1. the telephone number at 64 Dane Street in Somerville, Massachusetts. 2. the name of the house at that address, where several winkers lived in the 1970s and 1980s

Old Hall · n winking venue at Queens' College, Cambridge, England

On the Mat · n a report by Guy Consterdine published in March 1967 which described the origins of modern tiddlywinks from 1954 to 1957

"Other Nations" · the anthem of Tiddlywinks, as composed by Rev. E. A. Willis for the Goons match in 1958

out = squopped out

OUTS · n Oxford University Tiddlywinks Society

P

Pairs · n a type of tournament in which fixed partnerships compete to win

pass · vi electing not to take a shot

Paul McCartney (UK) · n a boondock-and-sub [Back-formation from John Lennon]

PBTT (US, now rare/obscure) · n abbreviation for "power behind the throne", someone with great influence over a NATwA Sec-Gen

penhaligon = carnovsky [after a TV presenter who managed it first time on BBC's Breakfast Time]

perimeter rule · n an optional tournament rule that dictates that a wink sent off the playing surface can be placed anywhere on the perimeter by the opponents, and that the shooting player does not miss his or her next shot. However, if the playing wink's color is sent off the playing surface in conjunction with any other wink(s), the playing wink's color misses its next shot. This rule originated in the US during the 1980s and was prominently espoused by Sunshine.

persimmon (US) · n three players playing the two colors of a partnership, rotating uniformly among the three players. (February 1978, Continentals tournament.) [Created by Sunshine. From persimmon, the fruit; analogy with pear, being a pun on pair, a partnership.] = (UK) rotating three

perversion · n a game played with winks that is not the standard four-color game, including simulations of other sports (e.g. baseball). Sunshine's Alleghany Airlines Book Club Presents (February 1976) is the seminal publication on perversions

Petrie piddle (obsolete) = n piddle

PFTL = pot-from-the-line

phonecard squidger (UK, now rare/obscure) · n squidger made from a flexible British Telecom (BT) phonecard

piddle (US) · n a delicate shot in which a squopped wink is gently freed. Also vt. = (UK) chip; carve out

piece = wink [from the game of chess]

pile · n a set of two or more winks, some squopped and ordinarily one or more free, in which each wink is either squopping another wink in the group, and/or is squopped by another wink in the group

pile flip · n a shot which results in a wink from within a pile or underneath a squop ending up on top

pile-jump (UK) = gromp (Winking World 50, page 13)

PINTS · n Pinner Tiddlywinks Society (UK)

pip · n a notional measure of benefit resulting from a shot [1980s+]

pivot · n the movement of a wink around a point of contact with another wink

Plan 47 (obscure) · n potting a partnership's remaining free winks when many of its winks are squopped in a large pile, with the hope that the opponents will be forced to free a wink from that pile

plexy (US) · n a squidger made of Plexiglas

point · n either a time-limit point (now called a tiddly) or a game point

point transfer · n the transfer of one game point to the winning pair in a game which ends in a potout

poke (US) · n the application of a squidger to a wink or pile with a quick, short stroke that is intended to result in moving a single wink a short distance to result in a desired objective.

Port Stanley (UK) = n bomb (Devlin, 1985)

positional game · n a game which is marked by many small adjustments to the positions of winks on the mat. In Britain, chiefly associated with Nick Inglis--hence sometimes an "Inglis game" In the USA in the 1970s, associated with Bill Renke and Ross Callon.

poss (UK) · n to send a wink no more than a quarter of the distance intended, especially if the shot was an easy one [Named after Poss Ellis, OUTS winker, January 1993 during the Cambridge Open; Newswink 28, page 10]

pot · n the cup that is placed at the center of the mat in the official four-color game of tiddlywinks. It has an external diameter of 48mm at the top and 38mm at the base, and is concave around its side.

pot · vt, vi to shoot a wink with the objective of having it come to rest in the pot. (Winking World 1, page 2)

pot-from-the-line · n a Guinness Book of Records event in which twelve small winks at the baseline of the mat are potted in the fewest number of shots. Abbreviated as PFTL.

pot-out, potout · n the achievement of having all winks of a color in the pot. Also vi

pot-squop · n a game strategy in which one player of a partnership focuses on potting out and remaining pottable, while the partner focuses on squopping the opponents

pot-style · adj holding the squidger at an obtuse (downward) angle toward the direction of a shot

pottable · adj a wink that potentially can be potted, either directly or indirectly by shooting another wink

potting at risk · n attempting to pot a wink during a turn when a player's color is due to free an opponent wink at the conclusion of free turns

potting game (US) = baseline pot

ppg · n points per game average

ppl · n points per loss average

ppt · n points per tie average.  If there are ties, this is 3.5. Otherwise, this is undefined.

ppw · n points per win average

press (US) · n a shot consisting predominantly of downward pressure. A press shot is often used to free a wink that is barely squopped somewhere in a pile. = (UK) tap

protect · vt, vi to send a wink to land near a pile where it can more readily squop any opponent winks that may want to squop the pile

protection · n having winks near enough to a pile to be able to squop any opponents approaching the pile

push shot · n a shot consisting overwhelmingly of lateral pressure (with little or no downward pressure), which is contrary to the rules. (Winking World 5, page 5, March 1964)

PVC · n polyvinyl chloride, a material sometimes used for making squidgers, and typically light gray in color. [First used by Larry Kahn]

Q

quad (US) · n a pile in which four winks are squopped by one wink

quadrupleton (UK) = quad

QuCTwC \kwuck twuck\ (UK) · n Queens' College Tiddlywinks Club (Cambridge)

QESH (sometimes QUESH) (UK) · n a team named from Queen Ethelberga's School, Harrogate, an establishment having nothing at all to do with any of the players on the team, but which they once happened to drive past

quick and continuous · adj said of a shot in which the squidger is moved without hesitation or discontinuity during the execution of the shot

QUILTS · n British Marchant Trophy team formed by players from Queens' College, Cambridge [= QUeensmen In London Tiddlywinks Society]

R

rabbit-bashing · n racking up high scores when playing against very weak opponents

ramp · n a wink in a pile which is leaning against another wink and is also touching the mat

rating · n a numerical measure associated with a winker based on the winker's performance in play

regionals (US) · n Eastern Regional and Western Regional tournaments, played from the 1960s through the early 1980s

relevant · adj describing a wink in a position where it fulfills a useful function, e.g., protecting a pile or threatening a wink or pile

Relix (US) · n a US team formed from by members of the Zoo team [From Relix, newsletter for Grateful Dead fans]

Renaissance (US) · n a US team formed in Fall 1976. [Named after a bookstore in Ithaca, New York]

resquidge · vi to conduct the squidge-off again between players whose squidge-offs were equally near the pot. also n

Rick Tucker squidger (UK) · 1½ inch diameter marbled-effect squidger, usually yellow, as sold to British players during 1985 US tour; more generally, any squidger made by Rick Tucker since 1979

rim shot (US) · n a shot during which a wink bounces off the top edge of the pot

Rivendell (US) · n a US team formed by Severin Drix [a place in books by J.R.R. Tolkien]

roll · vi to move about on the mat along the circumference; said of a wink

rotate (US) · vt to adjust a mobile free wink by turning the wink around in its place on the mat

rotating three (UK) = persimmon

rounds · n the portion of play after time expiration when a potout has not occurred

run six · vi to pot all six winks of a color in successive shots of a single turn [First use: Newswink 14, page 13]

S

safe (US) · a position for a wink on the mat where it is unlikely to be squopped

salmon pink (UK, now obscure) · one of the 1½ inch diameter marbled-effect squidgers made from gambling chips in Britain in the early 1980s—many were salmon pink in color

Samson · n onetime nickname of Severin Drix in the late 1960s [named due to Samson's locks of hair]

Schiller squidger · n a squidger made and sold by American winker Tim Schiller, 1973

ScotTwA · n Scottish Tiddlywinks Association. Revived in 1992; previously organized in some form in the 1960s. As of 2004, no longer active.

ScotTwAn · n a member of ScotTwA (1994)

scrunge (rare) (UK) = bounce out (Hull Guildhall, 1962, in Winking World 4, page 11) ["to be scrunged"]

Sec-Gen = Secretary-General

Secretary-General · n the principal officer of NATwA or IFTwA; the ETwA equivalent is Chairman

seduce · vt to tempt the opponent into trying a risky shot (Winking World 5, page 5, March 1964)

self-protecting · adj said of a pile that can easily be gromped or bristoled to squop nearby opponent winks

set · n the winks and pot

sharp = thin squidger

shoot (US) · vt, vi to make a 1shot. = play

1shot · n a squidge and the corresponding results; the act of playing a wink

2shot · n an exclamation of commendation for a good shot

shot judge (US) · n a person who judges whether a shot is performed in compliance with the rules of tiddlywinks

side by side (UK) = tangent ·

sideways amigos (UK, rare/obscure) · n the act of positioning a Mars Bar traversely in the mouth prior to performing an amigos [CUTwC, 1980s] ·

sideways bristol · n a shot similar to a bristol except the squidger is not held parallel to the intended direction of the wink being played ·

Silver Wink (UK) · n a trophy donated by Prince Philip for inter-varsity university team matches [Initiated during the 1960-61 season; trophy first awarded in 1961]

single (US) · n one person playing both sides of a partnership in a game normally played by a pair, e.g. in the Pairs

Singles · n a kind of match in which one player plays both colors of a partnership

singleton (UK) · a one-on-one squop separate from other piles

snaffle(UK) (rare) = eat

Somerset Invitation (UK) · n exclusive invitation tournament held annually by Stew Sage in Chilcompton, Somerset

Somerville · n a US team originally based in Somerville, Massachusetts and associated with the OAK-BYTE residence

Sotwink · n a UK club based in Southampton

sponned (UK) (obsolete) · adj said of a wink on which an opponent is kneeling or standing (Hull Guildhall, 1962, in Winking World 4, page 11)

squabble (obsolete) = pile

squallop (obsolete) = vt squop (CUTwC rules, 1956)

squapt (obsolete) = squopped out (CUTwC rules, 1956)

squidge · vt, vi to apply a squidger to a wink (Winking World 1, page 4)

1squidger · n the round instrument used by a winker to play winks. It may be no smaller than 25mm (formerly 1 inch) in diameter, no greater than 51mm (formerly 2 inches) in diameter, and no greater than 5mm (formerly 3/8 inch) in thickness at its edge

2squidger · n (rare) someone who squidges

squidge-in · n the play of a previously unplayed wink from behind a baseline on the mat. Also vi

squidge-off · n the determination of which color starts a game by shooting a wink of each color toward the pot. The closest color wins the squidge-off. Also vi

squidging · adj, n performing a squidge; shooting a wink with a squidger in the game of tiddlywinks

squop · vt to play a wink so that it comes to rest vertically above some or all parts of another wink. n a wink that is squopped

squop, bristol, John Lennon memorial shot · n British drinking game

squop-style · adj holding the squidger at a sharp angle toward the direction of a shot

squopped · adj a wink that in whole or in part is directly below another wink

squopped-out (US) · n a game situation in which all winks of one color (or both colors of a partnership) are squopped or in the pot

squopped-up (UK) = squopped-out

squopper · n (rare) one who squops

Squopsman, The · n the official journal of the Scottish Tiddlywinks Association. [First issue published in June 1993.]

squopt = rare) squopped out

stack (UK, especially Pinner) = gromp

StATS · n St. Andrews Tiddlywinks Society, Scotland

stoplight · n a linear squop with three winks of the same size, one green, the next yellow, and then red.

Straight, The · n winking venue at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York = Willard Straight Hall]

streaking · n a perversion in which the goal is to pot as many winks in a row as possible without missing. See Alleghany Airlines Book Club Presents for the rules.  [named after the fad in the mid-1970s of people running naked outside]

sub · vi, vt to shoot a wink that ends up coming to rest under another wink, thereby squopped. Also n

submarine = (US) sub

Sunsch = Sunshine [clipped]

Sunshine · n American winker David Sheinson

Supreme Dean, The (US) · n British winker Alan Dean

T

tangent (US) · adj said of two winks that are very close to each other but are not squopping each other. = (UK) side by side

tap (UK) = press (US)

tar baby · n a pile under your own control, but into which your winks seem to be sucked entirely inadvertently. A tactical nightmare [Bob Henninge, 1990]

TDI · n ("The Dumb Indian") nickname of American winker Saul Agranoff

teams of four (UK) · n the ETwA National Fours

1tempo · n an abstract measure of the positive value of a good shot compared to the potential for opponents to recover from it

2tempo · n advantage to be gained by forcing opponent into a shot, thereby allowing yourself a turn in which to do what you want. Essentially therefore a measure of who has the initiativehence to gain tempo or to lose tempo [from the game of chess]

tetrad n (Relle) = quad

Thesis, The · n The Science of Tiddlywinks, a study published by members of CUTwC in 1955

thin squidger · n a squidger with an edge that is sharp rather than rounded. [circa 1972]

30-second rule · n a rule enacted in the 1980s in which a partnership has the option to stop the game clock after 30 seconds has elapsed since the previous shot, and the opponents have not made a shot

"The Winks Club Mats" · n anthem of CUTwC, sung to the tune of the "Red Flag"

Thorpe's Ring (UK) · n = circular squop [named for British winker Geoff Thorpe]

tiddle (deprecated) · vt, vi to shoot a wink. n, adj (deprecated) = tiddlywinks

tiddledy (obsolete) · n = tiddly

tiddler · n (deprecated) one who plays tiddlywinks

1tiddly, -ies · n (obsolete) In some antique games, same as squidger. Not used in modern winks. (Also tiddledy)

2tiddly, -ies · n (obsolete) = wink

3tiddlies · n = time-limit points (May 1993 ETwA rules)

tiddlywink (rare) = wink

tiddlywinker (rare) = winker

tiddlywinks · n a competitive partnership game in which the objective is to gain an advantage over opponents by squopping opponent winks and by squidging friendly winks into a pot. [Preferred modern spelling. Earliest known use of spelling, 1894]

tiddledy-winks · n the original spelling of the game of tiddlywinks [Trademark registered in England in 1889 by Joseph Assheton Fincher.]

tidleywinks · n the predominant spelling used for the game of tiddlywinks in England from the 1920s to the early 1950s.

tie · n a game score of 3½ to 3½ in the official four-color game of tiddlywinks

time limit · n the duration of time permitted for the play of the game prior to rounds. This is 25 minutes for games with pairs, and 20 minutes for games with singles

time-limit points · n (US) points calculated at the end of the game which are used to determine the order of colors for assigning match (or game) points. For each color, 3 time-limit points are earned for each wink in the pot and 1 time-limit-point is earned by each other unsquopped wink in play. = tiddlies

TKOs · n (US) "The Knowledgeable Ones", a US team that first played in the 1974 Westerns (November), replacing Hyth

Toads · n a US team (also known as Chrome Toads, Xenopus)

triple (US) · n a pile in which three winks are squopped by one wink

triple crown · n (US) the act of acheiving first place in the Continentals (team championships), Singles, and Pairs. [From triple crown in other sports, e.g., winning the three major US horseracing championships.]

triples · n a variant version of tiddlywinks played with six colors and six players, three players playing in partnership against the other three. See Alleghany Airlines Book Club Presents for the rules

tripleton (UK) = triple

trundle (rare/obsolete) = gromp (Cohen, 1977)

turnover (UK) · n = flip

Tucker two-turn · n A variation on partnership play in which two (or more) players play the two colors of a partnership, but one player plays the turns for both colors consecutively, and then the other player does; partnership play continues in this fashion. [invented by Rick Tucker in Ithaca NY circa 1977]

turn · n one shot, or a sequence of shots, made by the player of a color, where each shot after the first one is an extra shot resulting from a wink of that color being potted on a previous shot. Compare with free turns

two minute rule · n rule enacted in the 1980s, but rarely enforced, according to which a partnership has only 2 minutes to play a shot in rounds, after which time the shot is forfeited

two-ply · adj a tiddlywinks mat made of two plies of felt, one light gray, one off-white, available from the early 1960s to 1973

U

ULU (UK) (obsolete) = sub [from University of London Union]

umpire (UK) = judge, especially when the matter in question is whether or not a wink is squopped

unsquopped · a wink that is not squopped; it may be a free wink or it may be an unplayed wink behind the baseline

V

Varsity Match · (UK) the annual CUTwC vs. OUTS match

Visine shot · (US) n a shot in which a red wink is squopped ("gets the red out"). [from Visine, an eye care product.]

W

Walmsleys · n a British supplier of winks and squidgers until the 1980s

warp · n a property of some older (Walmsleys) winks in which one part of the wink had more concavity than the rest of the wink

waste (UK) = to lose or boondock

Wessex Trophy · n competition inaugurated in 1988 for two large and amorphous teams chosen on the morning of the tournament from amongst those present; held in London

WETS · n Wessex Exiles Tiddlywinks Society (UK)

wiggle (US) · vt to make a miniscule adjustment to a wink on top of a pile

Willard Straight Hall (US) · n a winking venue at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York

Willis, Rev. E. A. (Edgar Ambrose) · n the first ETwA Secretary-General and a dominant personality of the CUTwC club in the 1950s

1wink · n a disk played in the game of tiddlywinks

2wink · vi to play the game of tiddlywinks

winkdom · n the sphere of tiddlywinks activity in the world

winked out(US) · adj fatigued due to playing tiddlywinks

winker · n a tiddlywinks player. (Winking World 1, page 1)

winking · adj playing tiddlywinks

Winking World · n an official publication of ETwA, first published in February 1961

winks · n 1. the game of tiddlywinks. 2. plural of wink

Winks Rampant · n a report by Guy Consterdine, published in October 1972, describing the development of modern tiddlywinks in England from 1957 to 1958

winx = winks [variant spelling, originated by Canadian winkers in 1978]

World Master · n a winker who has won a world championship match, either a World Singles or a World Pairs

World Pairs · n a world championship match for pairs players in which the current world champion (or a national Pairs winner) is challenged by a national Pairs winner. The match is won by gaining the most match points in seven games

World Singles · n a world championship match for singles players in which the current world champion is challenged by a national Singles champion. The match is won by gaining the most match points in seven games

WOY (US) · n abbreviation for Winker of the Year

WP = abbreviation for World Pairs

Written Word · n a publication by Joe Sachs which appeared in July 1978

WS = abbreviation for World Singles

WW = abbreviation for Winking World

X

xylophone shot (UK) · n a shot, usually illegal, in which the squidger is dragged across three or more winks that form a linear squop. (Winking World 50, page 14)

Y

Z

Zoo (US) · n a US team originating at MIT, first playing in the 1972 HOTT (October), later becoming Relix

Send your latest winks words akimbo to Rick Tucker for the next edition of the Lexicon of Tiddlywinks. Thanks!
Tiddlywinks.org is the official web site of the North American Tiddlywinks Association.
Contact Rick Tucker for anything relating to tiddlywinks!
© 1994-2012 Rick Tucker.  All Rights Reserved.  Legal notice.