Home › Glossary › Letter T

tip-cat

Games
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Tip-cat is a game in which a short wooden "cat" is struck at one end to make it fly, then hit again in the air.

Detailed Definition
Tip-cat appears in poetry as a symbol of the double strike and the transformation of the grounded into the airborne. In historical verse it represents the ingenious play of the streets. Poets invoke the cat and the tip to illustrate themes of initiation and follow-through, the sudden elevation of the object, and the traditional games that train the eye and the arm.
Example
Example in poetry:
Tip-cat’s struck wooden piece and second airborne blow supply poets with images of double and transformative force; Folk verse of the street uses the game for the object that must be hit twice to live; “He tipped the cat and the second stroke sent it into the only sky it would know” illustrates sequential elevation; Educational poetry shows the sport as a humble ancestor of later striking games; Poets keep tip-cat when the ordinary must be made to fly by a second, decisive contact.
Additional Notes
Tip-cat’s short wooden piece and double stroke turn the ordinary stick into a projectile that must be hit twice to live. The game’s street and folk associations allow poets to evoke a rough and ingenious form of play. Classroom discussion can usefully place tip-cat among the ancestors of later striking games. Related forms include cat and dog and the various regional variants. The image is effective when the humble object must be made to fly by a second, decisive contact.
Also Known As
cat and dog tipcat
Skip to main content