This game is played between four or more people. Everyone stands in a circle and starts with their fists extended towards to the center. One person takes the first turn and indicates by making a throwing motion with their fist. When this happens, the person whose turn it is tries to guess how many fingers will be extended. During this turn, every other player has the choice of either keeping their fist closed or extending five fingers. This makes the number of fingers in the circle somewhat random. If the person whose turn took the turn is right, they are out of the game. So, the last one in the game loses. An extra rule that is occasionally instated involves celebrating after getting out. If you high five someone else or obviously celebrate in any other way, you are back in the game. This can lead to loud, intense games where people go from very happy about getting out to very upset about getting put back in.
Author Archives: Patrick Cleland
Calling Fives
This custom is similar to calling “shotgun” on the front seat of a car in that it has to do with seating. When you are in a group of people with limited seating and you have to leave your seat, you can “call fives” on this seat. This means that for the next five minutes, no one can your seat. If you come back within these next five minutes, you can reclaim your seat. Although this rule is observed among many young people today and is made to eliminate debates, it can often lead to disputes as to whether or not five minutes have passed.
“Two shakes of a dead sheep’s tail”
This proverb is used to mean a short amount of time. Saying “I’ll be there in two shakes of a dead sheep’s tail” means that you will be there quickly. The informant first heard this proverb from his mother when he was five years old. His mother is from Georgia, and the informant always believed that this was a Southern proverb. It was memorable because he could never figure out why it had to be a sheep’s tail, let alone a dead’ sheep’s tail. There is nothing about dead sheep’s tails that lend them to being shaken fast, making this proverb somewhat absurd and silly. The saying seems to have gone out of style, so the people who use it are usually older. It is also a very motherly saying, used to reassure impatient children that dinner will be ready soon, or that they will leave soon, etc.
F.I.D.L.A.R.
This acronym stands for “Fuck It Dog, Life’s A Risk”. The informant first heard this when she was around 12. It was a popular phrase among the skater kids in Malibu, where the informant grew up. In fact, it was so popular that a local punk band from the area used it as their name. This band has since become popular on a national scale, giving prominence to the saying. The informant maintains, however, that the saying existed before the band and that the band merely adopted it.
This saying seems to be popular mostly amongst teenagers in the los Angeles area, which makes sense given the sentiment of the phrase. Teenagers are known to go through a rebellious period and a saying like this, which is essentially justification for making a rash decision, is perfect for this demographic. The informant says she has never heard it used it outside of Los Angeles and there is a certain pride attached to it being local to that area.
Playoff Haircuts
This tradition was practiced by the informant during his time on the high school lacrosse team. The informant went to high school in upstate New York, where lacrosse is by far the most popular highs school sport. A lot of pressure is put on the team and it regularly makes it to, and often wins, the state championship title. At the end of the season, they would go to sectionals, or the playoffs. This would usually involve traveling around upstate New York as a team and staying in a hotel, etc. Before taking off for this trip, the team would gather at someone’s house and buzz each others’ hair with clippers. These weren’t just normal haircuts, though. Everyone would shave ridiculous mohawks, patterns, words and shapes into their head so that they all looked absurd. They would keep these haircuts until either they were eliminated from play or they won. It was considered good luck and was done every year.
Although this is obviously a silly tradition, it represents solidarity amongst the team. Alone, it would be hard to go out in public with a penis shaved into your head. However, if you are with a group of people in matching uniforms with equally ridiculous things shaved into their heads, it might not be as hard. It is symbolically of how they will be more successful on the field if they stick together and are on the same wavelength. In this way, it can be considered a case of contagious magic. The belief is that if they have the same haircuts, they will have similar thoughts and be able to communicate better.