Chinese checkers
2
3.1
- noun
- /ˈtʃaɪniːz ˈtʃɛkərz/
:
damas chinas
- We'd sit in front of the fire and play double solitaire and Chinese checkers.
- play Chinese checkers
Examples
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Yeah, I'm playing Chinese checkers with Mrs. Hess.
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"Girls," my mother interrupted, "I brought the Chinese checkers."
Fiction book (1996) -
Maybe you want to go down to Chinatown and play some Chinese checkers?
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I went to the store for Granny, and we played Chinese checkers.
Fiction book (1998) -
But in all likelihood, Suzy's probably hiding in the closet at her best friend's house playing Chinese checkers at this very moment, as we speak.
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On rainy days, we often enjoy a game of Chinese checkers with the family.
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After dinner, the children gathered around the table to play Chinese checkers.
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Whenever friends come over, we love to challenge each other to Chinese checkers matches.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Knowing 'Chinese' and 'checkers' lets a B1 learner infer this is a kind of board game (the category is transparent), but the specific form (six-pointed star board, marbles) and the name's misleading origin are not derivable from the parts. Because the constituents give a clear general category but not the precise meaning or form, the expression is only partially predictable to learners.
Etymology
The game Chinese checkers got its name as a way to sell it. One popular story says makers called the star-shaped game Chinese to sound foreign and added checkers because people knew that word, even though it is 'not from China' and is not the game 'checkers'. That's why today Chinese checkers means the star-shaped marble board game.