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Tip-cat (also called cat, cat and dog, one-a-cat, pussy, or piggy) is a pastime which consists of tapping a short billet of wood, usually no more than , with a larger stick similar to a baseball bat or broom handle. The shorter piece is tapered or sharpened on both ends so that it can be "tipped up" into the air when struck by the larger, at which point the player attempts to swing or hit it a distance with the larger stick while it is still in the air (similar to swinging at a pitch in
Tip-cat (also called cat, cat and dog, one-a-cat, pussy, or piggy) is a pastime which consists of tapping a short billet of wood, usually no more than , with a larger stick similar to a baseball bat or broom handle. The shorter piece is tapered or sharpened on both ends so that it can be "tipped up" into the air when struck by the larger, at which point the player attempts to swing or hit it a distance with the larger stick while it is still in the air (similar to swinging at a pitch in baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
or cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
).
There are many varieties of the game, but in the most common, the batter, having placed the billet, or "cat", in a small circle on the ground, tips it into the air and hits it to a distance. Their opponent then makes an offer of a certain number of points, based upon their estimate of the number of hops or jumps necessary to cover the distance. If the batter thinks the distance is underestimated, they are at liberty to decline the offer and measure the distance in jumps, and to score the number made.
In popular culture
Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino (, ; ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian novelist and short story writer. His best-known works include the ''Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the '' Cosm ...
has written a short story "Making Do" (in English, "Chi si contenta" in Italian), published in the collection ''Numbers in the Dark and Other Stories'' in which the only thing left legal for the citizens to do is to play tip-cat ( Lippa in the Italian), which they do all day, until even that is forbidden them, too. A variant of the Italian 'lippa' is 'lizza'.
Variations
InWalsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
in the 1950s, an alternative version required a set of stumps and bails, similar to those used in cricket; unlike cricket, these stumps were leant against a convenient wall, as the game was played in the street. The aim was to tip up the cat and then strike it towards the stumps with the object of dislodging the bails. Opposing fielders were allowed to catch the cat in flight.
Other variants are:
* Gillidanda
Gillidanda is an ancient sport Traditional games of South Asia, originating from South Asia that is still widely played throughout South Asia. The sport is also found as far north as the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean and as far east as Sou ...
in southern Europe and the Indian subcontinent
* Billarda in the Canary Islands
* Lippa in Italian, but the game has a large number of dialectal names too
* Țurca in Romania and Moldavia
* Cead, or Cleas na Slise in Ireland
* Jachigi
Jachigi(자치기) is a South Korean game where a long stick and two short sticks is hit and caught. First, a circular hole is dug on the ground, and a circle is drawn on the outside. After placing a short stick around the outside of the hole, it ...
in South Korea
* Alak Dolak in Iran.
* Knurr and Spell in West Yorkshire
* Dainty in the Louisville
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
neighborhood of Germantown- Schnitzelburg
* Nipsi in Pennsylvania Dutch
The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...
communities.Shoemaker, Alfred L. "Let's All Play Nipsi," The Pennsylvania Dutchman, volume 1, no. 3. Lancaster, PA, Thursday, May 19, 1949, p. 2. https://dspace.fandm.edu/bitstream/handle/11016/24033/Vol1No.3.pdf?sequence=1
See also
*Giddy-gaddy
Giddy-gaddy, also known as cat's pallet, was a children's game played in Manchester, England, almost certainly a variation on tip-cat. It involved "striking one end of a sharpened piece of wood causing it to rise and then driving it some distance ...
* British folk sports
This page lists sports and games which have traditionally been played in rural areas. Predominantly they come from the British Isles.
Some take the form of annual events in a particular location associated with the tradition. Others have become ...
*Dandi biyo
Dandi biyo (, ) is a game played in Nepal which was considered the ''de facto'' national game until 23 May 2017, when volleyball was declared as the national sport. Dandi biyo is played with a stick (''dandi'') about long and a wooden pin (''bi ...
References
{{Reflist Outdoor games