pididdle, perdiddle, perdido

[Richard Gage]

On Wednesday, 6 Mar 2002 at 11:30:11 Lynne Murphy wrote:

     To me, this was 'perdiddle' (western NY state).  I never
     saw it spelt, but we did pronounce it with a distinct 'r'
     in my family.

One of the following cites for the "perdiddle" variant suggests a
connection between perdiddle and "perdido."  I'm not sure how much
credence should be given to this, in view of the fact that the
purpose of the webpage is to introduce a magazine called "Perdido."


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< http://itpeeswheniburn.net/epiphany/march.html >
"got naked in a game of strip perdiddle then flashed some truck
drivers"
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< http://www.quirkz.com/verbal/md6b.html >

The whole scenario reminds me of the game "perdiddle." I'm sure
you've heard some variation on the game. It's played when driving,
and hinges around other cars' having a burnt out headlight. Sometimes
I see the game labeled "pediddle," but without the r the name sounds
sort of dopey to me. It rings badly against the ear, like hearing a
kid say "hambugger." So perdiddle it shall always be for me. The
version I know works like this:

It's played when a man and a woman are out on a date. When one of
them sees a car that's missing one of its headlights, they shout
"perdiddle!" If they're right, they get a point. If they're mistaken
(because of obstacles, the car turning out to be a motorcycle, etc.)
then their partner gets a point. At the end of the night, the points
are tallied. The lowest score is subtracted from both players, so
that one person has zero points and the other has a smaller
remainder. As the rules were taught to me, for each point the guy
has, he gets to kiss the girl once, and for each point the girl has,
she can do whatever she wants to the guy. Mind you, these rules were
taught to me by a woman, so there may have been a slight bias. But
the other variations I've heard suggest that the woman gets to hit
the guy once for each point. So again, I sure as hell ain't
complaining. "Whatever she wants" might be worse than a punch, but it
could certainly be much better, too.

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hack_barnstormer's Yahoo! Profile
< http://profiles.yahoo.com/hack_barnstormer >
Hobbies: Going out, reading, movies, horses, travel, writing, hiking,
swimming, shopping, social sciences, strip perdiddle, and fun.
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< http://www.perdidomagazine.com/Issues/SepOct94/FF-Perdido.htm >

PERDIDO

IT'S NIGHT. YOU'RE YOUNG and driving an old Buick down a country road
with your date seated next to you. An oncoming car comes into view,
but you notice that one of its headlights is out. You quickly turn to
your date, yell "perdido!" and give her a kiss.

Or in Southern Illinois you might yell "perdiddle." In Ohio
"padiddle" and in California "padoodle." In Washington, if it's a
taillight that's out, then "padungle."

No one knows where this expression comes from, or can even agree on
how to spell it. Meaning "lost" in Spanish, perdido meant "desperado"
in 18th-century England. And in the 40s, Duke Ellington wrote a song
called "Perdido." In New Orleans, Perdido is a street, and in
Alabama, there's Perdido Beach. In some regions, if you're first to
shout "perdido," you get to punch your fellow rider in the shoulder
-- depending on your (and your friend's) gender.

It's a game without any formal rules and with much local variation.
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"Perdiddle," by Ali Cherry
["West Wing" episode, or "West Wing" fan fantasy?]
< http://members.tripod.com/samfanfic/ali/perdiddle.htm >


“Perdiddle.” Sam said softly.

CJ chuckled. “Excuse me?”

Sam looked at her in surprise. “You never played that when you were a
kid?”

“No, what?”

“It's a game my mom and I used to play. When you see a car with only
one headlight, you say Perdiddle. For every Perdiddle you get a kiss
from the other person. Or at least that's the way we played.
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< http://www.geocities.com/leylo88/whishes.html >
If you see an automobile with only one of its headlights lit, sat
[say] “perdiddle” and make a wish as you touch your nose.  If others
are present the first one to say “perdiddle” gets to make a wish
while tweaking someone else’s nose.
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< http://www.pjdmusic.com/hedgehog/hogcat.html >
7". PJD Records. PJD 023. 1990.
Songs: Search For Perdiddle, Subliminal Criminal.
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"Perdiddle," by by Mongo BearWolf, 1990
<
http://members.aol.com/mongobear/private/Mongo/Writing/Perdiddle.html
>

"Oh my God!" Gina screamed. "A Perdiddle!"

The song suspended itself at the thirty second bottle as the whole
bus strained itself to see what Gina was pointing at. Far in the
distance they could see a single headlight cutting through the
gathering gloom. Gina stood proudly in the aisle, hunched over and
squinting to see out the front windshield. The rest of the bus
chattered and giggled as the oncoming light grew closer. Jimmy Yates
stood up in the back of the bus and made his way forward. "Okay,
Gina! But if it's a motorcycle again, this time you're mine!"

. . .As the car passed them across the freeway divider, it's one
headlight cutting through the inky darkness, most of the girls and a
few of the boys stood up and cheered. . .

"That's okay, Gina," Jimmy said not looking at all defeated, "I'll
get you next time. It was luck. You can't tell the difference between
a motorcycle and a real Perdiddle!"

"I kind of wish it had been a motorcycle," Tommy said quietly,
staring out the window at the now brilliant stars.

"Why?" Ben asked.

Tommy was silent for a minute. "I don't know. But Gina didn't need to
kiss Mikey. She should have kissed somebody else. Jimmy maybe. He
wanted her to."