Knock, knock, ginger explained

Knock, knock, ginger (also known as ding, dong, ditch and ring and run in the United States) is a prank or game dating back to 19th-century England, or possibly the earlier Cornish traditional holiday of Nickanan Night. The game is played by children in many cultures. It involves knocking on the front door (or ringing the doorbell) of a victim, then running away before the door can be answered.[1]

The name knock, knock, ginger, “knock down ginger” or knocky door ginger, used in parts of Southern England, is attested at least as early as 1867, in an English poem found in the "Childhood in Poetry" collection:

Ginger, Ginger broke a winder

Hit the winda – crack!

The baker came out to give 'im a clout

And landed on his back.[2]

Name variations

The game in various forms is known by different names geographically, including the following:

Europe

North America

Oceania

Africa

South America

Asia

Legality

Victims of this prank are not likely to call the police, but if they decide to, the prankster can face charges of trespassing and disturbing the peace. In England and Wales, trespassing is a civil matter rather than a criminal one, and the police will not compile a case for a victim. However, under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, it is a criminal offence to "wilfully and wantonly disturb any inhabitant, by pulling or ringing any door bell, or knocking at any door" punishable with up to 14 days' imprisonment.[31] [32] In Scotland, although the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 establishes universal access rights, the so-called "right to roam" is only permitted where the privacy of others is respected. Such errant behaviour could be regarded as the Scottish common law criminal offence of "malicious mischief".

On 13 June 2011, Michael Bishop, a 56-year-old man, shot at a group of children playing ding dong ditch at his house in Louisville, Kentucky. A 12-year-old boy was hit in the back with a shotgun blast and was taken to Kosair Children's Hospital "with what police call non-life-threatening injuries". The shooter was charged with attempted murder. On 8 December 2015, his final day in office, outgoing Kentucky governor Steve Beshear issued 197 pardons,[33] including a pardon for Bishop.[34]

A 14-year-old Oklahoma teenager, Cole Peyton, was shot in the back and arm while playing "ding dong ditch" in the early hours of New Year's Day of 2016.[35] [36]

Dean Taylor, a 63-year-old coach and former San Francisco Police Department officer, was arrested following an incident involving an 11-year-old boy who rang his doorbell in San Rafael, California on 12 February 2021. After two boys rang his door and ran, Taylor chased the boys in a vehicle, cut off one of the youths and emerged from the car. Then he allegedly grabbed one 11-year-old boy by the neck, pushed him to the ground and forced him into his vehicle. He drove the terrified boy around the block, and allegedly told the boy that he would "put a bullet in his head" if the prank happened again. He dropped the boy off near Point San Pedro Road and Loch Lomond Drive, and police were called. Taylor faces felony charges including kidnapping, making criminal threats, false imprisonment, battery and child endangerment.[37]

A California man, Anurag Chandra, 42, faced several murder charges for his role in a crash on Temescal Canyon Road on 24 January 2020. A group of six teenage boys drove to a nearby home on Mojeska Summit Road in Corona, about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles, after one of them had been dared. The boy rang the doorbell and returned to the 2002 Prius that they were riding in, and the group took off. Chandra, who lives at the home, chased after them in his 2019 Infiniti Q50. His car rammed into the back of the Prius, causing it to veer off the road and into a tree. Daniel Hawkins, Jacob Ivascu and Drake Ruiz, all 16-year-old passengers, were killed in the crash. The 18-year-old driver and two other boys, ages 13 and 14, were injured but survived.[38] In 2023, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[39]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren . 2012-09-09. 9780940322691 . Opie . Iona Archibald . Opie . Peter . 2001 . New York Review of Books .
  2. Book: Childhood in Poetry. John MacKay Shaw. 1967. 9780810304796. 2016-12-08.
  3. [:nl:Belletje trekken|Belletje trekken]
  4. Web site: Kevin Brennan MP .
  5. Web site: Williams. Craig. Article: Remembering Two Man Hunt, Chappy and the other games Glasgow kids played on the streets, Glasgow Live. 10 June 2019.
  6. Web site: Black. Claire. Interview: Sue Lawrence, home cook . The Scotsman. 31 August 2011.
  7. Web site: Dictionary of the Scots Language :: SND :: Chickie-mellie n. comb..
  8. Web site: Dictionary of the Scots Language :: SND :: Chap v.1. www.dsl.ac.uk.
  9. Web site: Cherry-knocking turns to theft of OAPs' doorbells. https://archive.today/20130701055846/http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Cherry-knocking-turns-theft-OAPs-doorbells/story-16282580-detail/story.html%23axzz2Xjdman79. dead. 1 July 2013. Gloucestershire Echo. 5 June 2012. 30 June 2013.
  10. Book: Country Doctor . Constable & Robinson Ltd . 30 June 2013. 9781472107992 . 7 February 2013 .
  11. Web site: Hljóp uppi ungling sem var að gera dyraat.
  12. Web site: Warum macht der Klingelstreich Kindern so viel Freude?. 2021-08-18 . 2024-04-13 . Zeit Online . Silke Weber .
  13. Web site: This 82-year-old Dublin granny was almost caught rapid doing a knick-knack.
  14. Web site: "Knock and nash" nuisance . Cwherald.com . 2008-02-29 . 2016-03-27.
  15. Web site: h2g2 - Knocking on Doors - a How-to Guide - Edited Entry. Not Panicking. Ltd.
  16. Web site: Prank. January 2019.
  17. Web site: Origins of: Knock down ginger . 25 July 2021 .
  18. Web site: Hull Daily Mail . 3 November 2018 .
  19. Web site: Daniel Kemp . Police: Boy Playing Ding-Dong Ditch Shot in Back . Wlky.com . 2011-06-14 . 2012-09-09 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120323113217/http://www.wlky.com/r/28232763/detail.html . 23 March 2012.
  20. Web site: Aimee Ortiz . 'Doorbell Ditch' Prank Led to Crash That Killed 3 Teens, Officials Say . The New York Times . 2020-01-24 . 2021-05-07.
  21. Web site: Chris O'Connell . Delaware state trooper accused of assault; teen hospitalized with serious injuries . FOX 29 Philadelphia . 2023-08-23 . 2023-08-30.
  22. Web site: September 26, 2023 . Nicky nicky nine doors definition and meaning Collins English Dictionary . September 26, 2023 . Collins Online Dictionary.
  23. Web site: Clough. Alexandra. Family of boy shot and killed during ring-and-run prank near Boca may never see settlement after shooter files bankruptcy. The Palm Beach Post. 10 April 2012. 23 February 2010.
  24. Web site: Stupidshow.com: on joue à sonne-décriss. 2007-05-02. La Presse. 2019-07-09.
  25. Web site: Clowning around can end in tears. Johnstone. Eloise. 13 September 2012. Bendigo Advertiser. 27 February 2020.
  26. Web site: tok-tokkie Definition of tok-tokkie in English by Oxford Dictionaries. https://web.archive.org/web/20181116132001/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/tok-tokkie. dead. 16 November 2018. Oxford Dictionaries English. 2018-11-16.
  27. Web site: Diccionario Chileno / Definición de: Rin-rin raja. 2019-01-04. Diccionario Chileno. 2019-01-04.
  28. Web site: Juego Tradicional (Colombia): Tín tín, corre corre. - ppt descargar. 2021-10-18. slideplayer.es.
  29. Web site: Definition of 벨튀 in Korean. 2019-04-15. NAVER Dictionary. 2019-04-15.
  30. Web site: 「ピンポンダッシュ」の意味や使い方 わかりやすく解説. Weblio辞書. 2022-08-03.
  31. Web site: Town Police Clauses Act 1847 . Legislation.gov.uk . 2012-09-09.
  32. [Forsyth County, Georgia|Forsyth County]
  33. Web site: Gov. Beshear's 197 pardons include Louisville man charged with shooting 12-year-old boy in 2011. wrdb.com. 2015-12-08. 2015-12-09.
  34. Web site: Victim's family 'outraged' after man who shot 12-year-old boy is pardoned. wrdb.com. 2015-12-08. 2015-12-09.
  35. Web site: Whigham . Nick . Cole Peyton shooting, Obama forces through gun control . news.com.au . 18 December 2018 .
  36. Web site: Blakinger . Keri . Oklahoma honor student, 14, shot in the back while playing 'ding dong ditch' - NY Daily News . nydailynews.com . 18 December 2018 . 2 January 2016.
  37. Web site: Retired SFPD inspector faces felony charges in Marin County after prank escalates. 18 February 2021.
  38. News: 'Doorbell Ditch' Prank Led to Crash That Killed 3 Teens, Officials Say . The New York Times . 25 January 2020 . Ortiz . Aimee .
  39. News: Man Who Crashed Into Teens After Doorbell Prank Gets Life in Prison . The New York Times . 16 July 2023 . Medina . Eduardo .

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