shove-ha'penny

[ shuhv-hey-puh-nee, -heyp-nee ]

/ ˌʃʌvˈheɪ pə ni, -ˈheɪp ni /

noun British.

a shuffleboard game played with coins or brass disks that are pushed by the hand and thumb down a board toward a scoring pit.

Nearby words

shouting distance, shouting match, shouty, shove, shove off, shove-ha'penny, shove-halfpenny, shovel, shovel beak, shovel hat, shovel-nosed

Also shove-half·pen·ny

[shuhv-hey-puh-nee, -heyp-nee] /ˈʃʌvˈheɪ pə ni, -ˈheɪp ni/.

Origin of shove-ha'penny

First recorded in 1835–45

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shove-halfpenny

The game of shove-halfpenny is mentioned in the Times of April 25, 1845, as then played by the lower orders.
Folk-lore of Shakespeare|Thomas Firminger Thiselton-Dyer
The favourite game of shove-halfpenny was kept up till a late hour, when the party broke up highly delighted.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 1, November 27, 1841|Various
You now have a prepared patch that can be used for hop-scotch, shove-halfpenny, Rugby football or curling.
Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol. 146., January 21, 1914|Various
Shove-halfpenny, a gambling pot-house pastime, played on a table.
The Slang Dictionary|John Camden Hotten

British Dictionary definitions for shove-halfpenny

shove-halfpenny

noun

British a game in which players try to propel old halfpennies or polished discs with the hand into lined sections of a wooden or slate board

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