Hand-in-cap

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Hand-in-cap is an old English swap game from which the modern term handicap evolved.

The game

Two people want to exchange things with each other and use a referee. This decides whether the two things are equivalent, or whether the owner of the inferior thing has to add a difference amount determined by the referee in order to establish equivalence.

As soon as the arbitrator has named this amount, the two people and also the arbitrator pay a certain amount as repentance money into a pot. Then the two people each put one hand in a cap (the expression hand in cap ) and pull it out again at the command of the referee. If someone pulls out his hand openly, he signals approval of the proposed trade; if he pulls out his hand as a closed fist, this means rejection.

  • If both players agree, the trade is concluded, the items are exchanged, and the owner of the inferior item pays the other the difference. The referee receives the pot with the repentance money for his services.
  • If both players signal rejection, there is of course no exchange, but the referee receives the pot with the regret money.
  • If one player signals consent, but the other rejects it, no trade takes place either. In this case, the player who has given their consent receives the pot with the repentance money.

Etymological meaning

This game is mentioned as early as the 14th century in Piers Plowman by William Langland .

To let the idea of a neutral balance the chances in the 18th century in the horse racing industry expanded: in handicap races carry the individual horses different weights according to the estimates made by the equalizer ( handicappers ) - in the ideal case, then all starters the same chances .

At the beginning of the 20th century, the expression handicap was derived from this as a synonym for disability : a disabled person must in a sense bear a heavier burden than a non-disabled person.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Ron Amundson: The Meaning of 'Handicap' . University of Hawaii.
  2. ↑ Handicap price . Snopes.com.
  3. ^ Definition of handicap in Oxford Dictionaries (British & World English) . Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  4. ↑ a b Online Etymology Dictionary . In: Online Etymology Dictionary . Retrieved April 12, 2013.