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Original poster

Chinny reckon...

308 replies

Caramellattelady · 23/08/2016 22:47

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?

OP posts:
CattyMcCatface · 25/08/2016 22:02

We did the feet in a circle in Brum (everyone putting their right foot in) then
"Dip, your shoes need cleaning please change your foot" (then you'd change your foot if it landed in you, & when you'd been landed on twice then you were out.)

I was wondering about the "I Wrote a letter to my love and on the way I dropped it, somebody must have picked it up and put it in their pocket, " I thought we had "a tisket a tasket, a little yellow basket, " somewhere at the end of it?

Anyone remember clackers or knockers? Two hard plastic balls on the end of strings that you had to knock together fast enough to meet above and below? Everyone had bruised wrists!

bertsdinner · 25/08/2016 22:05

Never heard of this chinny thing, grew up in 70s in west Yorkshire.

I remember the Diana Dors rhyme, you did actions to it " well I'm Diana Dors and I'm a movie star, I've got a cute little figure and a rolling car" , cant remember the rest but it ended " I'm Diana, Diana, Diana, YEAH!" It may have been a rhyme for when we were bouncing balls against a wall.

We used to link arms and march round the shouting/chanting "we won the war, in 1964!" , or " if anybody gets in my way I'll kick them", that got banned at my school.

CLH77 · 25/08/2016 22:07
  1. a dubbie
  2. plimsolls
  3. roll

And we had 9-9 in (all prisoners released!)
We also played 'it' and scribs meant you were temporarily immune.
Ours was ip dip sky blue who's it not you!
I'm trying to remember our CeCe one ... think it was:
CeCe my playmate
I cannot play with you
My sister had the flu
She died in '72
.... and then something about kitchen door/floor ...
We also called it a 'scraze' if you grazed your knee ... I think that's fairly local to Hampshire.
:)

bertsdinner · 25/08/2016 22:10

Bouncing balls against a wall, like juggling, was big at my school, with a rhyme to go with it
"PK penny a packet, first you chew it then you whack it
Then you put it up your jacket, PK penny a packet"

thewavesofthesea · 25/08/2016 22:17

'Bumper Car, Bumper Car, Number 48, turn around the cooooooorner!
Slam on the brakes......'

I went to two primary schools; one in the south east then one in the north. Regional variations were huge! The one above was a south east one I think. I loved 40-40!

Also; Tag, Tig, or It?
South east - It
North - Tig

thewavesofthesea · 25/08/2016 22:18

And I'm in my early (ish) thirties...

mlamle · 25/08/2016 22:32

I grew up in East Lancashire, where it was Tig, and we had the rule "You can't tig your butcher" (you can't tig the person who's just tigged you). My sister and I introduced our kids to this ruling last week, whilst playing it in the sea Grin - was ace fun.

Idefix · 25/08/2016 22:46

We had elastics, skipping and a game with a tennis ball in the cut off leg from a pair of tights. The game was to stand against a wall and swing the ball/tight leg agains the wall around your body? Not sure if there was a song.
Cowboy joe from Mexico, hands up, stickem up...can't remember any more.
Also recall having a very large marble collection dobbers, oilies, tiger eyes.
This thread has jogged back many happy memories.

IsSpringSprangedYet · 25/08/2016 23:28

Off ground touch - bit like it, but you were safe if you were "off the ground"
40-40, British bulldog (the whole class played this one Smile), kiss chase, red letter (can't remember how to play that one) and that clapping game you did with a friend (singing "when suzy was a baby a baby a baby....." and hi lo chick-alo)

Happy days.

Oh and it's "chinny reckon" or "BEARD" or just gesturing stroking a beard here in Essex, and i'm 32. And I had a couple of non-mutual friends who would say "naff" after saying something, meaning it then wasn't true/they were joking....

Sleepingonthebus · 25/08/2016 23:34

I think I remember just one of these.

Now I'm trying to remember if I was ever a child! Grin

SheDoneAlreadyDoneHadHerses · 25/08/2016 23:36

Truffle Where I'm from it was:

Ickle ockle choclate bockle, ickle ockle out

SheDoneAlreadyDoneHadHerses · 25/08/2016 23:41

Oh and I have vague recollections of people putting both their fists into a circle and someone saying "ickle ockle choclate bockle, ickle ockle out" whilst hitting their fist on top of the other playee's fists. If your fist was on the "out", you removed it, if you were hit again you were out completely.

As the person doing the hitting you had to hit your chin instead of one of your fists (coz obviously you were using one of your hands for the selection process)

DesolateWaist · 25/08/2016 23:50

red letter (can't remember how to play that one)

The way we played Red Letter was like this:

One person was in charge and everyone else lined up, like the start of grandmothers footsteps. The person in charge then said a letter and you took as many steps as you had that letter in your name.
So if your name was Josie Smith and they said 'S' then you took two steps.
First person to the other side of the playfield was the winner.

I liked that game as I had a very long elaborate name with lots of random letters like x, w and z in it.
Of course it was totally possible for your friend to ensure that you won.

Charley50 · 25/08/2016 23:52

Ooh did anyone play slaps? You put your hands together and so does your opponent, fingertips touching. You take turns to try and slap their hands; they can move once you've started to move; get another go if you slap them, their go if you miss.
I taught my DS it; great game.

Crocodillian · 26/08/2016 00:02

Certainly heard "chinny reckon" in the playground a lot.
I moved away at 18 for uni and never went back.and I'm always told that the slang I heard in the playground was specific to the area in the South East that Im from. Phrases such as
"Cacked it" Fell over
"Choring" Stealing
"Benny" tantrum
"Jiffy" any petrol station
"Well fair" very good
"Well badly fair" extremely good or good looking

DesolateWaist · 26/08/2016 00:05

The only one of those I know Croco is Benny which comes from the character of Benny from Crossroads I believe.

LucyintheskywithRainbows · 26/08/2016 00:53

We called a ride on friend's bike a backer. Gym shoes were plimsolls but some kids called them borstal breakouts and the bread thing is a bun

LucyintheskywithRainbows · 26/08/2016 00:55

Charley50 we had raps where you had to use a pack of cards and got smacked on the knuckles if you twitched. Only played it once because I'm a wuss

rumbuba · 26/08/2016 01:16

we didnt use a word for the chin thing, just the action.
A) backie
B) plimsolls
C) roll

40/40 Home was my favourite game.

I played slaps recently... I'm not as good as I remember ...

Did anyone skip "double dutch" style with 2 long ropes? I loved it but always had "the panic" when it was time to get in or out.

(SE london, late 80s / early 90s)

oldjacksscrote · 26/08/2016 02:49

Truffle, we sang 'ip dip dog shit fucking bastard you are not it' and also said ibble obble black bobble...

We played Off growing it, basically you were safe if you were standing on a bench but could only stay there for a few seconds.

I'm going to have to save this thread to teach a few of these to my boys.

Moanranger · 26/08/2016 04:23

Interesting to read this thread as I grew up in California in the 50's (!) We played Red Rover, Mother, May I, elastic skipping game. Also massive hide & seeks. When the hid person was found & the game over, you shouted "Olly Olly ochs in free, free, free". No idea what it actually meant, but to avoid distant hiders spending hours in their hideouts, wondering when game was over.
I grew up with three brothers who would regularly wrestle you to the ground or start tickling you, etc. You got them to stop by shouting " Uncle" I did this with my kids.
Also, someone would shout " dog pile" & then everyone would pile on, like a big rugby scrum.
Only local words I can think of at the moment (probably due to weather) is that we called thongs ( the sandals) beachwalks or zorries. ( This is Japanese version of same. Pacific rim influence, you see.)

fizzingmum · 26/08/2016 04:45

We had the chin thing but called it Bellamy! As in David Bellamy, same hand gesture and meaning though. Still occasionally say it to my sisters (bio be else would know what it meant!)

Charley50 · 26/08/2016 07:25

We did bundles which entailed everyone piling on too of each other. Loved it but got a bit squashed.

LocatingLocatingLocating · 26/08/2016 07:59

Chinney Reck-ON!
Jimmy.

Also recognise the Ip Dip Sky Blue rhymes.

  1. Backies.
  2. Daps/dappers
  3. Roll
PurplePenguins · 26/08/2016 08:23

French skipping. England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales. Inside, outside, inside on.
Run outs. Like hide and seek but instead of staying where you are until you were found, you had to get back to base. If you were seen before getting back, you stood at base until someone managed to get back without being seen and kicked the can, then everyone ran off and hid again.
Can't remember what it was called, but you had a ball in a sock and stood against a wall swinging it side to side and sometimes under your leg as you said rhymes.
Never heard of chinny reckon tho 😊