Games People Play - Karen Bush

Are we going yet?

Faced with a long and tedious drive to visit friends and relatives over the Christmas period? Why not try the Alternative Alphabet game? Also known variously in other circles as The Swing Alphabet, The Silly alphabet and the True Alphabet, and it's a lot more fun than the NATO phonetic alphabet.

I was introduced to this many years ago by my lovely friend Dilys - sadly no longer with us, but the game lives on. An American acquaintance of my Dad did try to get us onto Inky Pinky (the English version may be more familiar to you as Wonky Donkey) but The Alternative Alphabet is far, far more fun, and has helped me wile away many a weary motorway mile. Can be played by 1 or more ...

Here are some of my favourite examples to get you started:

A for 'orses: cadopear: ism: Gardner

B for mutton: brook: honey

C for miles: looking: yourself

D for rent: Kate

E for Adam: lump: or: so careful

F for yours: so nice; vescent

G for boss: police:

H for beauty

I for you: an eye: the engine: luting
J for oranges
K for restaurant

L for leather: orc: bet

M for ever blowing bubbles: size

N for a stretch: a penny: a dig

O for done: joyed: the rainbow

P for England: ration: a whistle

Q for ages: snooker

R for cider: King of the Britons: mo

S for you

T for aching: golf

U for me: nerve
V for la France: voce
W for a quid
X for breakfast
Y for mistress: runts: biscuit
Z for 'is 'at: breezes

Your turn now ...

Are we there yet?

PS Still searching for the perfect gift?

Why not buy Another Flash in the Pen (accompanied by our first anthology A Flash in the Pen if you are feeling generous) for the person who has everything except this stuffed into their Christmas stocking. Also (as Christmas is traditionally as much a time of year for telling ghost stories as Halloween) don't forget to add Ghosts Electric (another scintillating read from Authors Electric) to your gift list too, maybe with Haunting Hounds as a perfect side dish ...

JULIA JONES' POST WILL BE APPEARING TOMORROW INSTEAD OF TODAY!

Comments

JO said…

What fun! It reminds me of an overheard game of i-spy in a cafe recently. One child spied something beginning with 'p' ... POO yelled his brother. But the real answer was dinosaur!!

9 December 2016 at 08:00

madwippitt said…

Ah yes, the P-word ... so much easier to pronounce! LOL

9 December 2016 at 08:50

Andrew Crofts said…

At the risk of seeming like the dim old uncle in the corner of the room at Christmas, can someone explain the basic concepts of this Alternative Alphabet game to me? - I think I must have been off sick the day it was invented.

9 December 2016 at 10:10

Bill Kirton said…

The one I play with my (very young) grandson isn't nearly as much fun. It started as a run through the alphabet identifying, for example, a food or a girl's name for each letter, progressed to Premiership players and football grounds, but he now wins all the time as we search for Bulgarian midfielders and the like.

9 December 2016 at 10:11

Penny Dolan said…

Andrew Crofts, you are not alone - especially at this head-swirling time of year.
Assistance please, wippities!

9 December 2016 at 10:45

Simples ... following the examples given eg A for 'orses rather than the boring A for Apple (A = Hay for Horses: 'ay for 'orses, right?) or eg B for Mutton (Beef or Mutton - got it?)you simply try to think up alternatives. Not necessarily things that begin with that letter of the alphabet. Think phonetically ... and outside the box ... or even a bit alternatively ...
Now, off you go ...

9 December 2016 at 11:51

Ah, I get it. Well I take my hat off to you. I seem to remember I had no brain space left at all during the days when I was driving the children around the world every day, certainly not enough to be this creative.It was hard enough trying to keep up with their chatter and remember where I was going and what I was supposed to be doing next.

9 December 2016 at 12:34

Jan Edwards said…

Our fave is song titles, bands or authors :-)

9 December 2016 at 12:48