Annie Walton Doyle
People have been left baffled after learning that there’s more than one name for the game where you knock on a door and run away…
If you were a slightly rebellious child, you’ll likely remember one particular game very well.
It’s a simple premise with few rules.
You simply knock on someone’s door, then run away, leaving them looking foolish as they answer the door to no one.
But one aspect of the game has gone viral this week.
What exactly is that nostalgic game actually called?
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As per Wikipedia, this many-named phenomenon “is a prank or game dating back to 19th-century England, or possibly the earlier Cornish traditional holiday of Nickanan Night. The game is played by children in many cultures. It involves knocking on the front door (or ringing the doorbell) of a victim, then running away before the door can be answered.”
Well, it turns out, there are a lot of names for the knocking and running away game.
And it seems as though what you call it is largely dependent on where you’re from.
In fact, there’s a huge variation in the name of the game based on geographic location – and some of the names are extremely bizarre.
Writing on Twitter, one former child asks: “When you were younger what did you call it when you knock on someone’s door and run away?”
And the responses came in thick and fast…
Giving a very popular answer, one person says: “Knock a door run.”
But that was far from the only reply.
Another laughs: “Oh, that’s a ding dong ditch here! I’ve never known it as anything else but the different answers are fun!”
“It’s called Tok-Tokkie,” another insists.
Another comments: “Chappie we called it, where I’m from. Ayrshire Scotland- but dare say other parts if Ayrshire will call it something else!”
“Knocky eye door & I was a pro,” boasts another.
One more writes: “From Dorset here we call it knock door run, I simply assumed this name was universal how wrong I was. Some of these names are just wild!”
Other answers include: “Chap door run!” “Ontario Canada, Niki Niki 9 door,” “Knock Down Ginger down south,” “Scottish Highlands, for us it was called ‘Rat a tat Ginger’ some other locals called it ‘Chickanelly’,” and: “Nic Nac in Ireland.”
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For a more extensive exploration, Wikipedia has compiled a full list of the different names for the game, alongside where these names originated.
These include the Welsh ‘Bobby Knocking’, English ‘Knock and Nash’ and ‘Cherry knocking’, ‘Doorbell dixie’ from the United States, and the Aussie ‘Knick Knocking’.
One final commenter points out that this game is still haunting many online shoppers today.
They laugh: “Where I live it’s known as Evri and Yodel!”
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