Chinese whispers

Save This Word!

noun (functioning as singular)

a game in which a message is passed on, in a whisper, by each of a number of people, so that the final version of the message is often radically changed from the original

any situation where information is passed on in turn by a number of people, often becoming distorted in the process

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby Chinese whispers

Chinese Wall, Chinese water deer, Chinese watermelon, Chinese water torture, Chinese wax, Chinese whispers, Chinese white, Chinese windlass, Chinese wisteria, Chinese wood oil, chinfest

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use Chinese whispers in a sentence

The family was taking some private moments for a closing of the coffin in keeping with Chinese ritual.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss|Michael Daly|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Monitoring Chinese social-media platforms has paid off for the Chinese government.
China’s Internet Is Freer Than You Think|Brendon Hong|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So, we go to the urinals and he leans over to me and whispers, “I loved Gattaca.”
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange|Marlow Stern|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
HONG KONG—Last year, I met a Chinese graduate student on a tour of the northeastern United States before his first day at Harvard.
China’s Internet Is Freer Than You Think|Brendon Hong|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

We ought to seek Chinese cooperation in a response to this North Korean act of aggression.
Obama Could Hit China to Punish North Korea|Shane Harris, Tim Mak|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Undesirable inhabitants of the country are being sent away, especially the Japanese, who are more dangerous than the Chinese.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
Rich natives and Chinese lost large sums of money, the total of which cannot be ascertained.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
Besides, we now know that the plant which furnishes the Chinese tobacco is even said to grow wild in the East Indies.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Truly, with four or five thousand Chinese, the community would be well served and the country free from danger.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
There are at present more than sixteen thousand Chinese in this city of Manila, who have received license to stay in the country.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various