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12 August 2011

UK English question about fairground games! Your Britannic Majesties,

Do you guys have whack-a-mole machines?[More:]

And and and: would British readers know what an author meant by describing a process of trying to solve a problem as "a never-ending game of whack-a-mole"?

*curtsey*

Yankee Doodle mdonley
I haven't been to a fair in a while, but I don't recall seeing whack-a-mole. I know what it is because I probably know more about American culture than the average Brit, so I can't really say if other people would know what it is.
posted by Senyar 12 August | 14:02
Yup, I definitely remember hitting those things.

I'm only about 60% certain they were called 'whack-a-mole's, 'cause I have an increasingly loose distinction between things I learned in real life and things I learned reading the internets.
posted by chrismear 12 August | 15:08
Across the pond they are called rap-a-vole machines.
posted by Splunge 12 August | 15:16
OK, thanks all. :)
posted by mdonley 13 August | 04:08
They're called whac-a-mole here too. They were invented in 1976, and it's a trademark. I expect Splunge is pulling your leg. Variations on the machine are called whac-an-x, where x is whatever it is you're whacking.

If you used that phrase, British readers would have no problem understanding you.
posted by nthdegx 13 August | 19:55
Jesus Christ. Doesn't a burst appendix kill you? || What aren't you doing this weekend?

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