Hot potato

Hot potato is a party game that involves players gathering in a circle and tossing a small object such as a beanbag or even a soft ball to each other while music plays. The player who is holding the object when the music stops is eliminated.

Origins

The origins of the hot potato game are not clear. However, it may go back as far as 1888 when Sidney Oldall Addy's Glossary of Sheffield Words describes a game in which a number of people sit in a row, or in chairs round a parlor. In this game, a lit candle is handed to the first person, who says:

Jack's alive, and likely to live
If he dies in your hand, you've a forfeit to give

The one in whose hand the light expires has to pay the forfeit.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wise, Derba (2003-11-10). Great Big Book of Children's Games. McGraw Hill Professional. p. 266. ISBN 9780071422468.
  2. ↑ Maguire, Jack (1990). Hopscotch, Hangman, Hot Potato & Ha Ha Ha: A Rulebook of Children's Games. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671763326.
  3. ↑ Addy, Sidney Oldall (1888). A glossary of words used in the neighbourhood of Sheffield, including a selection of local names, and some notices of folklore, games and customs. London: Trubner & Co. for the English Dialect Society. p. 118 – via Internet Archive..