Word info

Chinese whispers

Noun

Meaning

(games, chiefly UK) A game for several players in which a phrase, whispered by each person in turn to their neighbour, is often unwittingly misunderstood as it is transferred, to humorous effect by the time it reaches the last person and is compared with the original phrase.
Synonyms: (Canada, US) telephone, broken telephone, operator, pass it down, Russian scandal, telephone game, a whisper down the lane

(by extension) Any situation where something is changed or misunderstood as a result of passing through successive people or processes.

Source: en.wiktionary.org

Examples

"Amongst women" became "a monk swimmin'". citation Other examples The traditional game Chinese whispers (" Telephone " in the United States ) involves mishearing a whispered sentence to produce a mondegreen. Source: Internet

Chinese whispers going down centuries can get things a little distorted. Source: Internet

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