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padiddle
DCHP-2 (Jul 2016)
n. & exclamation — dated, slang, Automotive, Games
a road-trip game; the word a player calls out on spotting something designated by the game rules, which is usually a vehicle with only one working headlight.
Type: 2. Preservation — As Chart 1 shows, padiddle is Canadian only in the North American context, with higher frequencies in Australia and New Zealand. DARE's earliest quotation for the term (s.v. "padiddle") is from Kansas from 1959. As Dollinger & von Schneidemesser (2011: 136-8) show, the term's regional dissemination in the US is matched with today's Facebook data from nostalgia groups discussing the padiddle car game. In the US, one "confirms an eastern/Northeastern prevalence of padiddle, but, crucially, suggests a New England and inland Northern base of the car game as well" (Dollinger & von Schneidemesser 2011: 137).
The term seems to be a preservation in Canada, as its use appears to have declined in the US. But even in Canada, the days of the car game seem numbered (see, e.g., the 2005 quotation). Nonetheless, the term counts as a preservation from US English for some two or three decades after its prime time in the US.
The term seems to be a preservation in Canada, as its use appears to have declined in the US. But even in Canada, the days of the car game seem numbered (see, e.g., the 2005 quotation). Nonetheless, the term counts as a preservation from US English for some two or three decades after its prime time in the US.
The game is easily played. When a passenger sees a car with a burnt-out headlight, s/he yells "padiddle" and then gets a wish or a reward. The oldest 1959 quotation speaks of "kissing the girl", the 2003 quotation of punching someone in the car, which appear to be two standard "wishes"; there is also "strip padiddle" (see the 2016 quotation). But there are elaborate counting schemes as well (see, e.g. the 1999-2010 quotation), and versions that have nothing to do with "one-eyed bandits", i.e. cars with just one functioning headlight (see the 2007 quotation).
Terms for this game vary within Canada. "Scadoodle" and "spadoodle" are variants in Atlantic Canada (see the first 2010 quotation), where "Ka-diddle" is also found (see the second 2010 quotation).
Quotations
1994
Fresh from chatting on a phone-in radio show from Champagne, Illinois on the book, Greer says people in a lot of different places share the same ideas about wishing.
You don't have to be from Ohio to believe that if you're driving at night and see a car with just one headlight, the first person to shout 'Pa-diddle gets a wish.' His co-workers are getting used to the media interference.
One of them, Alex Grzybowski, does a good-natured imitation of spitting over his shoulder, another form of wish fulfillment.
1999-2010
THE PADIDDLE GAME - A "Padiddle", as any trucker will tell you, is a car with one light out. The first person to see one, calls out "Padiddle"; the person who spots the most wins.
Car Padiddle - 1 point
Semi-truck Padiddle - 2 points
VW Bug Padiddle - 3 points
Taxi Padiddle - 5 points
Farm Equipment Padiddle - 5 points
Boat Padiddle - 5 points
Train Padiddle - 10 points
Helicopter Padiddle - 15 points
School Bus Padiddle - 20 points
Police Padiddle - 25 points
Airplane Padiddle - 100 points
2000
The commercial in question has a woman riding in a taxi who suddenly spots a Volkswagen and smacks the cabbie as she says, "Punch Buggy." No big deal, you'll say, so why am I whining.
Well, I'm almost 99.9 per cent Ivory Soap-pure sure that a Punch Buggy in my formative years was a Volkswagen with - here's the important part - one headlight burned out. (It seems to me the word "padiddle" also was in there somewhere.) So I've been telling my daughter she can't hit me just because she sees a Volkswagen, then this TV commercial destroys my story.
2001
Ron's findings:
1. "Smack When You See a Mack." Whenever a child spots a Mack semi-trailer truck on the highway, he or she slugs the nearest sibling on the shoulder and says: "Smack when you see a Mack."
2. "Punch Buggy, No Return." Whenever a child spots a Volkswagen on the highway, he or she slugs the nearest sibling on the shoulder and says:" (VW's color, e.g. 'blue') punch buggy, no return."
3. "Padiddle." A child slugs a sibling on a shoulder and says "padiddle" at random intervals until the sibling correctly guesses the recurring mystery object on the highway from which the child has decided he derives his slugging authority.
You will note the two common denominators in the three games: 1) a whole lot of shouting, and 2) much hitting.
2001
There's only one sure way to survive a Canadian winter: Keep moving. Use this list. Repeat if necessary.
[...]
Color Photo: 34. Play the padiddle game. Every car you see with one headlight out is worth a point.
2001
Of course, driving up Water and down George streets, there were games you played. Who can forget "perdiddle" or "punch-buggy punch-backs".
2003
I still don't understand the modern version of "Padiddle" or "Punch Buggy." As a commissioner and a member of the rules committee for this odd ritual, I know that a "Padiddle" is an original Volkswagen Bug with one headlight not working.
It is NOT (under section 23, sub-section viii, paragraph 4) simply a Volkswagen that allows the first person to spot it to take a free punch at the other nearest participant. When it comes to Punch Buggies, I am a conscientious objector and therefore out of bounds (section 3, sub-section vii, paragraph 2) as a target for any punches.
2006
- Padiddle: As veteran drivers will tell you, a padiddle is a car missing one light, also known as a One-Eyed Bandit. The first person to see one calls Padiddle. The person who spots the most, wins. Other versions follow such as Counting Cows. Each cow is worth one point; a horse, two; a deer, three; a mountain goat, four, a moose, 10. Someone makes up the list of possible animal sighting and accompanying point system. Someone also has to keep score. Oh yes: And when you pass a police car, you go back to zero. So like life.
2007
- Padiddle: In this game, all players look for the same thing, vans, station wagons, police cars . . . whatever you all decide on. When you spot the chosen item, call out "padiddle!" Keep track of how many "padiddles" each person has. The highest score wins.
2009
Padiddle
Handheld. When we were kids we would yell out 'padiddle' when we saw a car with a burned out headlight.
2010
My student's name is Nicole Newman. She double-checked with her Nova Scotia friend, and says it's actually "spadoodle", not "scadoodle." I was guest
lecturing in an intro class today and asked people if they had a term for a one-headlight car, and two of them said "spadoodle". And they're from Newfoundland, not Nova Scotia.
I also note (from reading online!) that there's apparently a road-trip game called "padiddle", in which the first person to see a car with only one headlight shouts that word and hits the ceiling of their car.
The things we learn!
gerard
2010
The first of the night was simple enough, a front-end light out.
I resisted the temptation to smack the top of the car and scream "Ka-diddle!" and watched the officer move out, do his work and issue the driver a nice day when it was all over.
2016
Jake and Sarah, two high school friends about to enter their senior year, are desperate for entertainment to avoid another boring summer evening. While driving, inspiration strikes and the two decide to play a game of strip padiddle. What was turning out to be another boring night just turned into an exciting, risqué adventure. Who will win, and who will end up naked, embarrassed, and exposed?
References
- DARE
- Dollinger & von Scheidemesser (2011) • Digital copy
Images
Image 1: Distribution of padiddle car game in the US as measured by origin & current location of Facebook users in padiddle groups (methodology: S. Dollinger, drawing: K. Lo. Source & methodology: Dollinger & Schneidemesser 2011: 135-38)
