Puzzle #429 · August 4, 2026
play chicken
Featured
Every day one two-word expression or compound word used in American English.
To play chicken is to play a game
To “play chicken” is to engage in a risky game of brinkmanship, often resulting in life or death. It involves two parties taking extreme, hazardous stances, waiting for the other to back down or yield first to avoid a disastrous collision or conflict.
Games of chicken have been depicted in movies like Rebel Without a Cause in 1955 where drivers drove their cars towards a cliff to see who would jump out of their car first. In the movie the hero wins because the other driver's arm was accidentally tied to the car door preventing him from turning or exiting.
A “play chicken” classic is driving cars towards each other to see who turns first. In the movie Footlose the game was played on tractors. In a nod to Rebel Without a Cause, in this case it was the hero who had his foot tied to the accelerator and thus he won because he could not jump off.
To “play chicken” is to engage in a risky game of brinkmanship, often resulting in life or death. It involves two parties taking extreme, hazardous stances, waiting for the other to back down or yield first to avoid a disastrous collision or conflict.
Games of chicken have been depicted in movies like Rebel Without a Cause in 1955 where drivers drove their cars towards a cliff to see who would jump out of their car first. In the movie the hero wins because the other driver's arm was accidentally tied to the car door preventing him from turning or exiting.
A “play chicken” classic is driving cars towards each other to see who turns first. In the movie Footlose the game was played on tractors. In a nod to Rebel Without a Cause, in this case it was the hero who had his foot tied to the accelerator and thus he won because he could not jump off.
Puzzle Appearances
The expression play chicken has appeared in 1 puzzle:
- Puzzle #429 on August 4, 2026
Rate of Appearance in English Language Print
Google's Ngram project shows how often a pair of words has appeared in print every year since the 1800's.
Data from Google Books Ngram Viewer. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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