pin the tail on the donkey

American  

Or pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey

noun

1. a children's party game in which a blindfolded player, holding a paper tail, is turned around several times before a large picture of a tailless donkey that the player then attempts to locate in order to pin the tail in place.

---

Example Sentences

"It's a bit like playing pin the tail on the donkey with us being partly blindfolded and there being very little donkey left for us to pin the tail on," Sherborne complained.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

“They played pin the tail on the donkey, and one missed dart could cost us $10,000.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 29, 2024

Eagles center Jason Kelce fulfilled a request to play pin the tail on the donkey.

From Washington Post • Feb. 7, 2023

It's very interesting that this is the subject matter we're focusing on, and people have been deeply affected by, but they can't pin the tail on the donkey on it.

From Salon • Sep. 10, 2021

Maybe you find it too visually crude and ergonomically strange—picture what someone playing pin the tail on the donkey would look like if their blindfold had a tether and weighed over a pound.

From Time • Oct. 5, 2016