Keep away

Keep Away, also called Piggy in the Middle, Monkey in the Middle, Pickle in a Dish, or Pickle in the Middle, or more popularly known as "Monkey", is a children's game in which two or more players must pass a ball to one another, while a player in the middle attempts to intercept it. The game could be considered a reverse form of dodgeball, because instead of trying to hit people in the middle with the ball, players attempt to keep the ball away from them. The game is played worldwide.

Rules

Keep Away is played by drawing a circle on the ground about ten feet in diameter. One person stands in the center (and is called it, the piggy or the pickle) and the rest stand outside the circle. A player outside the circle must then throw the ball through the circle to another person outside the circle with the goal being to prevent the person who is it from getting to the ball. This continues until the person who is it catches the ball or otherwise gains possession due to a failed catch, deflection, etc. An intended recipient who fails to catch the ball replaces the person in the middle, unless they fail before the ball touches any part of their body. The ball cannot be torn out of any of the players hands.

Variations

Like other children's games, this game has many variations to shape it in the manner they like to play. Some common variations are:

Naming

The name of the game varies with region. In the United States, the descriptive name Keep Away seems to prevail, while Canadian children commonly call the game either Pig in the Middle (Western Canada) or Monkey in the Middle (Eastern Canada, parts of New England, and parts of the Midwest). In the UK, Australia and New Zealand the name Piggy in the Middle is used (almost) exclusively. The game is also common in German, called "Dummer Hans" (Silly John), in Turkey under a name which translates to Rat in the Middle, in Denmark where it is known as what translates into Butter blob, in the Netherlands they call it "Lummelen" or, less commonly, "Aap in het Midden" [lit: "Monkey in the Middle"] and Silly Johnny in Poland. In Egypt the name of the game translates as The Indecisive Dog. Also in Iran the name "Vasati" is used. In Greece it is called "koroido" which translates into "sucker".

While the name Keep Away is self-explanatory, the origin of some of the other titles are less clear. Monkey in the Middle is likely to have arisen because the middle player jumps and waves his arms around like a monkey or ape. The names Piggy in the Middle and Pickle in a Dish are of unknown derivation.

"Pickle in the middle" derives from the game of baseball. When the base runner is caught off base between two opposing players, one of whom has the ball, he is "in a pickle".

Other meanings

In America, the term pig in the middle is sometimes used as slang for being under pressure from both sides of a dispute. The similar term piggy in the middle means the same in the United Kingdom.

Appearances in other media

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