Chinny reckon...

[Caramellattelady]

I have seen that phrase on MN several times since I started lurking around on here, despite never having heard it in real life. But from context and similarity, I guess it means the same as "itchy chin" which we used to say as kids to mean "yeah, right". I'd be willing to bet the accompanying hand gesture was the same too!

It got me thinking cos I'm a loser about other (possibly regional?) differences in sayings or games. One example I always remember cropping up when we were kids is the hide & seek game known either as 40-40 or 50-50 (obviously the 50-50-ers were just wrong..)

I find this kind of thing fascinating and would therefore like to open the MN floor to other examples....anyone?

Oops, should have posted in chat. Ok...AIBU to ask for more examples? There, fixed it.

Gameswise, we always played "It" as in "you're it!" but I think this is tag or tig in other parts of the country.

I remember doing the stroky beard action for a chinny reckon but can't remember what we actually called it.

Ooooh! 40-40! There's a blast from the past. I forget how to play it.

We used to do this car game called orange balls. Was that just us weirdos or was that a thing?

I used to love chinny reckon! And then someone would follow it up by saying "jimmy hill". Or "BEARD".

I read on here the other day that it's disablist somehow but I can't see how - anyone be able to explain?

We always used to do this thing where you'd stand behind someone and hold your hand over the top of their head and count - however many you got to by the time they turned around was number of people they'd kissed. You had to remember to put your other hand over your mouth otherwise it actually meant you had kissed them! Good times

chinny reckon must be accompanied by the regulation 'scratching a giant imaginary chin' gesture. stay vigilant.

We used to scratch the chin and say 'Boris'. Not a clue why.

Ah this is already making me smile! I also loved "itchy chin" and obligatory imaginary giant chin scratch. I still say it now, from time to time.

Queenbean we had a variation on that which involved doing what I guess I can describe as one handed air quotes behind someone's head. However many you did, that's how many they'd kissed.

Children are so cool.

Haha It was "Chinny Waffles" for us!

Never heard of orange balls...what're the rules?!

Queenbean we also did that hand over the head=how many boyfriends you've had lol
Greg Davies did a hilarious stand up routine about chinny reckon/beard..I'd never heard of it!

Rules of orange balls:

Everyone sings
"Orange balls, orange balls
Here we go again,
Last one down, to touch the ground
Has a boyyyfriend"

And then everyone has to touch the ground. Last one has a boyfriend. Then there was another part I can't remember. I think whilst singing we had to have our hands on our laps or do some sort of hand crossover thing on each other's knees. It was always when my cousin was staying so there were 3 of us. We had another car game but I can't remember it. It was a sing song type too.

We played something which I think we called French Skipping with a big loop of elastic around 2 people's ankles, knees or waists. The rhyme was 'jingle jangle centre spangle jingle jangle out!' It was a bit odd and I always wondered if it was played elsewhere.

I've not heard of any of these. Where are you from and what age? I

Chin rub bum scrub!

If someone was being a bit stupid/thick we'd shout 'effort' - I've been known to blurt it out occasionally 40 years later.

We did chinny-reckon complete with beard stroking action. We used to call hide and seek 1-2-3-in (that's what you had to shout if you got back to base (in) before the finder. Looking forward to resurrecting it when the dc are older!

We also played with a massive loop of coloured elastic bands (took ages to make as well) our rhyme went 'England, ireland , Scotland, wales inside, outside jump on the rails'

Chinny chinny round these parts, with gesture.

Also, 50-50. Obviously.

I used to love the French elastics as we called them. There were various moves you had to make which got more and more difficult. I can't remember them now, but I bet I could if I was in the elastic

Cambridgeshire, mid 40s, Patter.

I would shag Greg Davies SO HARD

We had itchy chin, generally shortened to 'ooh... Itchyyyyyyyy' and accompanied by a drawing out of a great long beard with pinched thumb and index finger, the way you might if indicating a Pinnochio-sized nose, but from the chin.

Our 40-40 was called 123 Releaster. Or 123 rescue. Basically hide and seek, with rules for setting free 'captives'.

We also had an elaborate way of working out how much the person who was 'on' would count to, and in what manner. The rhyme went along the lines of:

'Draw a snake upon my back. Dot an eye and paint it black. Which finger did i DOT you with? (at this point you poke them in the back) and they guess, each incorrect answer increasing the count by ten. Maximum obviously 100.

Then there were various ways of deciding whether to count fast or slow, or in twos, fives, or tens.

Happy days.

We played that too spankhurst but we used to alternate out and on (where you had to jump on the elastic).

Chinny rock-on down our way...