"cup-and-ball" meaning in English

See cup-and-ball in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: cup-and-balls [plural], cups-and-balls [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun|s|cups-and-balls}} cup-and-ball (plural cup-and-balls or cups-and-balls)
  1. A traditional children's toy consisting of a hand-held wooden cup with a ball attached by a string. The player jerks the ball into the air and attempts to catch it in the cup. Categories (topical): Toys Synonyms: bilboquet Related terms: kendama Translations (children's toy): bilboquet [masculine] (French), Bilboquet [neuter] (German), bilbokiet [masculine] (Polish), bilboquê [masculine] (Portuguese), bilboqué [masculine] (Portuguese), boliche [Spain, masculine] (Spanish), balero [Mexico, masculine] (Spanish), perinola [Venezuela, feminine] (Spanish), capirucho [El-Salvador, masculine] (Spanish)

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "cup-and-balls",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cups-and-balls",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "s",
        "2": "cups-and-balls"
      },
      "expansion": "cup-and-ball (plural cup-and-balls or cups-and-balls)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English coordinated pairs",
          "parents": [
            "Coordinated pairs",
            "Terms by etymology"
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          "source": "w"
        },
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          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
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        },
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Toys",
          "orig": "en:Toys",
          "parents": [
            "Recreation",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1782, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, translated by Samuel William Orson, The Confessions of J. J. Rousseau, Book V, published 1903:",
          "text": "When I was at Motiers, I used to employ myself in making laces with my neighbors, and were I again to mix with the world, I would always carry a cup-and-ball in my pocket; I should sometimes play with it the whole day, that I might not be constrained to speak when I had nothing to discourse about; and I am persuaded, that if every one would do the same, mankind would be less mischievous, their company would become more rational, and, in my opinion, a vast deal more agreeable; in a word, let wits laugh if they please, but I maintain, that the only practical lesson of morality within the reach of the present age, is that of the cup-and-ball.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A traditional children's toy consisting of a hand-held wooden cup with a ball attached by a string. The player jerks the ball into the air and attempts to catch it in the cup."
      ],
      "id": "en-cup-and-ball-en-noun--sOkr16b",
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "kendama"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bilboquet"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "children's toy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "bilboquet"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "children's toy",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Bilboquet"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "children's toy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "bilbokiet"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "children's toy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "bilboquê"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "children's toy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "bilboqué"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "children's toy",
          "tags": [
            "Spain",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "boliche"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "children's toy",
          "tags": [
            "Mexico",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "balero"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "children's toy",
          "tags": [
            "Venezuela",
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "perinola"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "children's toy",
          "tags": [
            "El-Salvador",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "capirucho"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "cup-and-ball"
}
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "cup-and-balls",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cups-and-balls",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "s",
        "2": "cups-and-balls"
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      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "kendama"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English coordinated pairs",
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English nouns with irregular plurals",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "en:Toys"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1782, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, translated by Samuel William Orson, The Confessions of J. J. Rousseau, Book V, published 1903:",
          "text": "When I was at Motiers, I used to employ myself in making laces with my neighbors, and were I again to mix with the world, I would always carry a cup-and-ball in my pocket; I should sometimes play with it the whole day, that I might not be constrained to speak when I had nothing to discourse about; and I am persuaded, that if every one would do the same, mankind would be less mischievous, their company would become more rational, and, in my opinion, a vast deal more agreeable; in a word, let wits laugh if they please, but I maintain, that the only practical lesson of morality within the reach of the present age, is that of the cup-and-ball.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A traditional children's toy consisting of a hand-held wooden cup with a ball attached by a string. The player jerks the ball into the air and attempts to catch it in the cup."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bilboquet"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "children's toy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "bilboquet"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "children's toy",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Bilboquet"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "children's toy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "bilbokiet"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "children's toy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "bilboquê"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "children's toy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "bilboqué"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "children's toy",
      "tags": [
        "Spain",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "boliche"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "children's toy",
      "tags": [
        "Mexico",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "balero"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "children's toy",
      "tags": [
        "Venezuela",
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "perinola"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "children's toy",
      "tags": [
        "El-Salvador",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "capirucho"
    }
  ],
  "word": "cup-and-ball"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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