The Traditional Children's Games of England Scotland
& Ireland In Dictionary Form - Volume 1

With Tunes(sheet music), Singing-rhymes(lyrics), Methods Of Playing with diagrams and illustrations.

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	34	BITTLE-BATTLE—BLACK THORN
	name, making crosses (X ) instead of the intermediate letters of the word, stating whether the name is that of bird, beast, or fish. The other players must guess in turn what the name is. The first one who succeeds takes for himself the same number of marks as there are crosses in the word, and then writes the name of anything he chooses in the same manner. If the players are unsuccessful in guessing the name, the writer takes the number to his own score and writes another. The game is won when one player gains a certain number of marks pre­viously decided upon as "game."—Barnes (A. B. Gomme). Bittle-battle The Sussex game of " Stoolball." There is a tradition that this game was originally played by the milkmaids with their milking-stools, which they used for bats; but this word makes it more probable that the stool was the wicket, and that it was defended with the bittle, which would be called the bittle-bat.— Parish's Sussex Dialect. See "Stoolball." Bitty-base Bishop Kennet (in MS. Lansd. 1033) gives this name as a term for " Prisoner's Base."—H alii well's Dictionary. Black Man's Tig A long rope is tied to a gate or pole, and one of the players holds the end of the rope, and tries to catch another player. When he succeeds in doing so the one captured joins him (by holding hands) and helps to catch the other players. The game is finished when all are caught.—Cork (Miss Keane). Black Thorn
	I. Blackthorn! Butter-milk and barley-corn;		—Earls Heaton, Yorks.