folklore: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????

Subject: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: Mr Red
Date: 01 Feb 06 - 01:30 PM

A colleague told me he used a ploy / time-out called faynites feighnights - pick the spelling the pronunciation is fairly clear fay as in day nites as in nights.

During a game of tag tig or called something else he thinks.

in order to catch breath, or similar he reckoned that by crossing index and next fingers of both hands and shouting faynites you were inviolate for the duration of the finger crossing.

Used sparingly or the game devolves into anarchy - maybe it does anyway.

Anyone heard this before?

London East End 35 years ago.

A superset of TAG he played was called British Bulldog.

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: Micca
Date: 01 Feb 06 - 02:32 PM

Use of "Fainites" or "Fainites Barley" and similar ways of calling "Time out" is very well discussed and locations in the UK where they were used in " The Lore and Language of School children" By Iona and Peter Opie (ISBN 0-19-282059-1)

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: gnomad
Date: 01 Feb 06 - 02:33 PM

The idea of an individual "timeout" was one observed when I was a kid in Hull. We crossed fingers as described, but would call "Kings" rather than feinites (I wondered why at the time, but not hard enough to ask anyone). We called the game tig.

There were variants on the basic game such as "off-ground tig" in which being anywhere off the ground rendered you safe from being tigged, and "three bobs then run for your life" where a player was allowed to squat in mid-chase, and could not be tigged while squatting, but could only do so three times. Once the chaser (known as IT) had moved off after a different victim the squatting player was obliged to rejoin the action.

Policing of fair use of the systems was self-governing, and I don't remember there being much anarchy, I think the games had evolved pretty thoroughly.

British Bulldog (and its non-contact cousin Chinese Wall) took more setting up, and made no allowance for such timeouts. While the "chase and catch" idea still applied, I would not really see them as versions of tig, more as a precursor of rugby, but without a ball.

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: s&r
Date: 01 Feb 06 - 02:40 PM

As mentioned above the Opie book has much info including a map of where the various truce terms were used in the UK. Well wort a read - I think it's still in print; or try Amazon

Stu

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: MBSLynne
Date: 01 Feb 06 - 03:06 PM

We used fainites when I was a child in Kent, then we moved to Australia where they used Barleys (pronounced with the emphasis on a long eees at the end) According to the Opie's books, Barleys is commonly used in Scotland. According to my children (Leicestershire) they don't have a crossing fingers 'time-out', but have to go to a particular place and say 'den'.

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: Snuffy
Date: 01 Feb 06 - 08:44 PM

We could call barley AND cross our fingers for ordinary tick, but I don't think it was allowed in ticky-off-ground: getting off the ground was the only way to do it.

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: Mr Happy
Date: 01 Feb 06 - 10:13 PM

'twas always a mystery to me in my boyhood why the term 'barley' was used. is it some form of corrupted Latin or other lingo?

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: GUEST, Topsie
Date: 02 Feb 06 - 06:44 AM

'feinsie' or 'cree' / 'crees', bristol North Somerset, 1950s to 1960s.

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: Paul Burke
Date: 02 Feb 06 - 07:15 AM

Salford, Lancs, 50s and 60s: Ballies (from barley?) or ballios.

The games were tiggy-off-the-ground, tiggy chain, tiggy ball etc.

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: MBSLynne
Date: 02 Feb 06 - 07:47 AM

We had 'feet-off-ground'.

Yes, I'd love to find out the origins of the actual words.

So...what did you call the person who was 'on' or 'in'? We used 'he' or 'it', but at this distance in time I can't remember which was Kent and which was Australia. We actually called chase games 'playing he' as well.

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Feb 06 - 08:17 AM

In Surrey, UK, 1950's, the chasing game was called 'he', or 'king he' if a ball was used.

The person in was 'it'.

'Fainites' could be used, but there was a more common word, but I'm buggered if I can remember it.

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: Emma B
Date: 02 Feb 06 - 02:14 PM

We used "alley" presumably a corruption of "barley" and the game was called "tick 'n hit". Chain tick got banned from the (concrete) school playground when centrifugal force resulted in a few fractured limbs!

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: Paul Burke
Date: 03 Feb 06 - 02:47 AM

A few fractured limbs? Tiggy chain was banned at our school when a lad was hurled through the dining room window.

What dipping rhymes did you use?

Commonest in Salford was:

Ip dip my blue ship
Sailing on the water
Like a cup and saucer
I say it is YOU.

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: Snuffy
Date: 03 Feb 06 - 08:22 AM

Same as yours, Paul, but our last line in Hazel Grove was
"o-u-t spells OUT"

Or else we used:

Ickle ockle, chocolate bottle
Ickle ockle out
Turn the dirty dishcloth
In-side OUT

Subject: RE: BS: Game of TAG - use/ploy of feinites ?????
From: MBSLynne
Date: 03 Feb 06 - 09:39 AM

Similar too, but we said
"Ip dip dip
My little ship
Sails on the water
Like a cup and saucer
You are not it"

My kids )Leicestershire) use something like your second one Snuffy, but I think it goes
"Ibble obble chocolate bobble
Ibble obble out
Turn your petticoat inside out.
Not because it's dirty,
Not because it's clean
O-U-T spells out and out you must go"

Love Lynne