parlor game

American  

noun

1. any game usually played indoors, especially in the living room or parlor, as a word game or a quiz, requiring little or no physical activity.

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Etymology

Origin of parlor game

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

It’s become a bit of a media-and-tech parlor game to try to estimate exactly what these losses are, on average.

From Slate • Apr. 14, 2026

The scene where the quartet plays their pre-wedding parlor game occurs about 25 minutes into Borgli’s film, and is ripe with instrumental, pre-twist subtext.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

Don't call it the "Marty Supreme" effect: table tennis is a growing sport in the United States, in part because of a new professional league giving the parlor game an ultra-competitive edge.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

Cascading revelations, pored over on X and Bluesky, have, in turn, become a parlor game of Choose Your Own Enemy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 7, 2026

Despite his first, the study of English literature seemed in retrospect an absorbing parlor game, and reading books and having opinions about them, the desirable adjunct to a civilized existence.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

• board game