Meaning
What does Knifey Spoony mean?
Knifey Spoony is the name of an Australian game of comparing the length of knife blades, with the longer one winning.
A player may also produce a spoon, that – if not identified by the opponent – beats the knife. However, if the spoon is noticed to be a spoon, then the person producing it loses.
Origin
What's the origin of Knifey Spoony?
The name comes from the season 6 episode 16 of Simpsons, in which Bart goes to Australia and gets a pocket knife to carve his name on the bar table, to which a local approaches him with a spoon.
The scene is a reference to the 1986 comedy, Crocodile Dundee where the protagonist is almost mugged, but intimidates the robber with a massive hunting knife.
Spread & Usage
How did Knifey Spoony spread?
After the Simpsons episode, the game entered the public’s database and people started to play “knifey spoony” on boring, rainy days.
Urban Dictionary had written an article on the activity in 2004, for the first time, with a bunch of other entries describing the game being uploaded over the years.
External resources
- Urban Dictionary – Knifey-Spoony