Coconut shy

A traditional coconut shy run by Albert Harris. This particular stall was established by his mother, Mrs E. Harris, in 1936.

A coconut shy (or coconut shie) is a traditional game, originally known as 'The love grove alley', frequently found as a sidestall at funfairs and fêtes. The game consists of throwing wooden balls at a row of coconuts balanced on posts. Typically a player buys three balls and wins each coconut successfully dislodged. In some cases other prizes may be won instead of the coconuts.

The word 'shy' in this context is a colloquial English term, meaning 'to throw' or toss.

The origins of the game are unclear, although the term is first listed in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1903. It probably derives from the game of Aunt Sally, with coconuts being seen as an exotic prize in the early 20th century. One theory (Harries, 2004) suggests the coconut shy may have originated at the Kingston, Surrey, annual Pleasure Fair in 1867 when that event took place on the town's Fairfield, not far from a coconut fibre mill on the Hogsmill river. The Surrey Comet reported how "for the small sum of one penny, you could have three throws with sticks with the prospect of getting a cocoa nut...". The coconuts could have come from nearby Middle Mill that advertised in the Surrey Comet as "The Patent Cocoa Fibre Co Ltd the only cocoa nut fibre manufactory in Surrey. All descriptions of mats in cocoa nut fibre made to order wholesale." Today the only reminder of Kingston's association with coconuts is a pub in Mill Street, which was the principal route between Fairfield and Middle Mill for several centuries. Called "The Cocoanut" it is not only spelled the old way but it is the only pub in Britain with that name.

Popular culture

German Dosenwerfen

The game is celebrated in Jon Lake's 1944 music hall song I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts and best known from recordings and performances by Merv Griffin in the 1950s. More recently the song was used by Disney in the film The Lion King.

H.G. Wells refers to the cocoanut shy (shies) as a type of carnival attraction in The Invisible Man written 1897. Wells was born (1866) and grew up in Bromley (close to the birthplace of Hannah Wood), less than 20 miles from Kingston.

On The Mighty Boosh, Howard Moon makes a joke to Vince's coconut friend, Precious, about being "coconut shy", in the episode entitled, "The Nightmare of Milky Joe".

Other countries

Popular on school-parties and in a professional way to be seen on fairs in German-speaking countries is the so called Dosenwerfen, the throwing of balls at empty tins. In France, the game is called Chamboule-Tout and also well practiced in fun fairs.

See also

• British folk sports
• Aunt Sally

References

Harries, H.C. (2004) Fun made the fair coconut shy. Palms 48(2) 77-82.

External links

• Coconut Shy Game

This game-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Games of physical skill Game stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную? Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine Jagdfaust Look at other dictionaries: coconut shy — coconut .shy plural coconut shies n BrE an outdoor game in which you try to knock coconuts off posts by throwing balls at them …   Dictionary of contemporary English coconut shy — ► NOUN Brit. ▪ a fairground sideshow where balls are thrown at coconuts in an attempt to knock them off stands …   English terms dictionary coconut shy — noun chiefly Britain : a cockshy with coconuts as the targets * * * coconut shy noun A fairground throwing game with coconuts as targets or as prizes • • • Main Entry: ↑coco * * * coconut shy UK US noun [countable] [ …   Useful english dictionary coconut shy — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms coconut shy : singular coconut shy plural coconut shies British a place where people throw balls at coconuts on posts, usually at a fair …   English dictionary coconut shy — noun plural coconut shies (C) BrE a game in which you try to knock coconuts off posts by throwing balls at them …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English coconut shy — noun Brit. a fairground sideshow where balls are thrown at coconuts in an attempt to knock them off stands …   English new terms dictionary coconut-shy — /ˈkoʊkənʌt ʃaɪ/ (say kohkuhnut shuy) noun a cockshy with coconuts as targets and prizes …   Coconut — For other uses, see Coconut (disambiguation). Coconut Palm Cocos nucifera Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) Scientific classification Kingdom …   Wikipedia shy — shy1 [ʃaı] adj comparative shyer superlative shyest [: Old English; Origin: sceoh] 1.) nervous and embarrassed about meeting and speaking to other people, especially people you do not know ▪ He was a quiet, shy man. shy with ▪ She was very shy… …   Dictionary of contemporary English coconut — n. (also cocoanut) 1 a a large ovate brown seed of the coco, with a hard shell and edible white fleshy lining enclosing a milky juice. b = COCO. c the edible white fleshy lining of a coconut. 2 sl. the human head. Phrases and idioms: coconut… …   Useful english dictionary 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”