People just can’t seem to decide the ‘official’ name for a game that was played by children in the days before YouTube and video games, as everyone has a different argument
It’s always comforting to revel in a bit of nostalgia – most of us played outside as kids rather than staying inside playing video games.
But many children will have likely made a nuisance of themselves at some point, as they played a very popular game where the premise was simple. Knock on a door, run away – and do not, under any circumstances, get caught.
This game would make the kids involved bend over double with laughter and would cause a whole lot of confusion to the person whose door was knocked on – but what was the game called?
People online just can’t seem to decide what the official name for this game – that many people participated in – is. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, someone asked: “When you were younger what did you call it when you knock on someone’s door and run away?”
Giving the most obvious and no-frills answer, someone responded saying: “Knock a door run”, while others were determined the game was called “Knock Down Ginger.”
Some people, however, referred to the game by very different names, including “Chickenelly,” which apparently is used in some parts of Scotland. One person claimed they called it: “Knock granny out of bed”, whilst another from Sunderland, said: “We called it Knocky Nine Doors.”
One well-travelled Brit added: “Growing up initially in the North we called it ‘knock-a-door-run’, pretty much does what it says on the tin. Then spent [the] latter part of my childhood in the south and for reasons which continue to bewilder me it was called ‘knock-down-ginger’. Makes absolutely no sense.”
As if the discrepancy in the UK wasn’t enough, apparently in America they refer to it as “Ding, Dong, Ditch.” In South Africa, one person explained they call it “Tok-tokkie,” which originates from a local beetle that taps the ground.
So the most reasonable conclusion is that there isn’t one ‘correct’ answer after all, and nobody can decide what the game is called – but it was a whole lot of fun.
What do you call it? Let us know in the comments.
