tiddlywinks
tid·dly·winks/ˈtɪdliˌwɪŋks/noun, verb
tiddlywinks is spelled T-I-D-D-L-Y-W-I-N-K-S: 11 letters and 3 syllables (tid·dly·winks). It appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 150,355th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tiddlywinks means “A competitive game in which the objective is to flick as many small discs (each called a tiddlywink or wink) as possible into a container (the pot)…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tiddlywinks?
| Letters | 11: T-I-D-D-L-Y-W-I-N-K-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: tid·dly·winks |
| In writing | about once in every 25 million words; the 150,355th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is tiddlywinks?
Tiddlywinks appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 150,355th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tiddlywinks?
- UK /ˈtɪdəlɪwɪŋks/
- UK /ˈtɪdlɪ-/
- US /ˈtɪdliˌwɪŋks/
Tiddlywinks has 3 syllables, split tid·dly·winks in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-tiddlywinks.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of tiddlywinks
- tiddleywinks
- tidley winks
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tiddlywinks mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A competitive game in which the objective is to flick as many small discs (each called a tiddlywink or wink) as possible into a container (the pot) by pressing on their edges with a larger disc (a shooter or squidger), causing them to jump up from the surface on which they are placed.
- 2
Especially in the form to play tiddlywinks: a meaningless or unimportant activity.
- 3
plural of tiddlywink
verb
- 1
third-person singular simple present indicative of tiddlywink
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tiddlywinks in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense competitive game in which the objective is to flick as many small discs as possi:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | jeu de puces |
| German | Flohhüpfspiel, Flohspiel |
| Portuguese | jogo da pulga |
| Spanish | juego de la pulga, pulga, pulga saltarina |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tiddlywinks come from?
From tiddlywink + -s, possibly from tiddly (“(informal) little, tiny”) + wink (“blinking of one eye”), perhaps borrowed from tiddlywink, etymology 1 (“unlicensed beerhouse or pawnshop; game played using dominoes”, etc.). The game was patented by a British bank clerk, Joseph Assheton Fincher (1863–1900), on 19 October 1889, and the name Tiddledy-Winks trademarked by him the same year. Tiddlywinks is the preferred modern spelling; the earliest known use of this spelling dates from 1894.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).