pat-a-cake

American  

[pat-uh-keyk] / ˈpæt əˌkeɪk /

noun

1. a children's game in which a child claps hands alone and with another child while chanting a nursery rhyme.

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Etymology

Origin of pat-a-cake

First recorded in 1870–75; after the opening words of a rhyme that accompanies such play

Example Sentences

They played cards and pat-a-cake clapping games, in effect living the childhood denied them.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2019

They looked as though they were engaged in a high stakes game of pat-a-cake.

From The Guardian • Jul. 19, 2014

My mother is bending over my little brother, Philip, in his high chair, playing pat-a-cake to trick him into letting her wipe his face and hands, making his mouth spill open with delighted laughter.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 1, 2013

They performed tricks for fish: spinning a ball on their noses, playing pat-a-cake, waving a flipper and blowing kisses to their adoring, squealing fans.

From Washington Post

“Hadn’t you better let Edward do that, dear?” said Miss Matilda, with a pained expression of countenance, as she played pat-a-cake once more with her handkerchief.

From Thereby Hangs a Tale Volume One by Fenn, George Manville