hot cockles

American  

noun

1. a children's game in which a blindfolded player is hit by one of the other players and then tries to guess which one did the hitting.

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hot cockles British  

noun

1. (functioning as singular) (formerly) a children's game in which one blindfolded player has to guess which other player has hit him

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Etymology

Origin of hot cockles

First recorded in 1540–50

Example Sentences

The evening closed with hot cockles, after which Esther took possession of the children, declaring, with more earnestness than was her wont, that they must and should not stay up another minute.

From Robin Tremayne A Story of the Marian Persecution by Holt, Emily Sarah

But to himself he said, "They are burning"—an allusion to the game of hot cockles, which is indeed a childlike symbol of the dreadful struggle between justice and the criminal.

From Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Balzac, Honoré de

Supper o’er, we first had snap-dragon, then hot cockles, then blindman’s buff, then hunt the weasel.

From Joyce Morrell's Harvest The Annals of Selwick Hall by Holt, Emily Sarah

I played at hot cockles, last night, at my Lord of Leicester's.

From An Old-Fashioned Girl by Alcott, Louisa May

"Lord Surrey and Lord Leicester sound fine, but hot cockles, and red mittens, and shoes for three shillings, are horrid."

From An Old-Fashioned Girl by Alcott, Louisa May