Talk:Keep away

Is it really called keep-away?
Keep-away (no basis other than cultural observation) seems to more reflect the modern way a game would be named - sterile. Monkey-in-the-Middle (name I was raised with) sounds more original. Was the new name to avoid invisible racial connotations (if it is a new name?)? Just a suggestion.


 * No, I think it's a regional thing; I grew up with monkey-in-the-middle, but a number of my college friends from other regions played keep-away. I think we should keep it as the article title, since it's widely used and of the titles present, the most descriptive of what the game actually involves. Kajerm 13:55, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

Card game too
"Monkey in the middle" is a card game, too - there should be a section of the article discussing the card game. However, the card game isn't called "Keep Away". Probably "Monkey in the middle" needs to discuss the card game with a disambig sentence at the top saying "For the children's game regarding trying to grab a ball, see Keep Away." 12.49.208.69 (talk) 16:20, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

International
"primarily in North America and the United Kingdom" is obviously patent nonsense. I don't have sources to back this up (which is a problem, I know), but this game must be known everywhere where people play ball games. I know it in the Netherlands as "lummelen". – gpvos (talk) 11:02, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

Variations / It is fun.
I just love that you've kept the sentence "It is fun," and just added a [citation needed]. Never take it out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.227.38.146 (talk) 14:06, 24 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Well, I SAY SO ! So-There ! Sucks Boo to you all. And it is mis-titled "Keep away", which is Wet. It was called "Piggy in the Middle" before PC considerations swamped reality. Children delight in "naughty" words. Yes, Yes, [citation needed]124.171.159.133 (talk) 23:02, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Appearances in cultural media
This game has appeared in various TV shows, video games and other stuff like that. Likely Ally (talk) 05:48, 12 January 2012 (UTC)

Use in bullying
There is no mention of the bullying aspect of this game, which is often how it is used. The "monkey in the middle" often doesn't chose to "play" but ends up doing so because bullies have taken something of value and are trying to keep it away from the victim. There have been many media references to this version - I recently saw it on a rerun of Monk - and I'd hardly characterize it as a game. --Misslauren (talk) 13:27, 26 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Whoops, didn't see your comment before I posted. I agree completely. 69.136.131.33 (talk) 21:51, 18 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes, I rarely saw this game played voluntarily on the part of the person in the middle. 2603:7000:7540:3096:F93A:2F94:1D91:D95F (talk) 00:12, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

"Keep away" and "monkey-in-the-middle" are not the same
I'm familiar with both terms, but they are not the same. In my experience, monkey-in-the-middle has a positive connotation - it's intended to be a fun game played with a ball - whereas "keep away" is a form of bullying in which a kid's object is stolen and he must desperately get it back. 69.136.131.33 (talk) 21:47, 18 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes I admit its actually called Monkey in the Middle, and has a wide use, but in spite of this I say Keep away is a perfect name for a tile of an article. And if you think that Keep away is not the name used / inappropriate name for this game, then you must be wrong. Thank you! — ITeachThem (talk) 16:34, 24 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Let's drop this snotty attitude. Your experiences are different from other people's experiences, and unless you can back up the 'you must be wrong' statement with evidence, you are simply forcing your opinion on others. I have a similar experience to the OP of this section, Keep Away and Monkey-In-The-Middle are two seperate, but related games. In Monkey-in-the-middle, the 'monkey' must remain in between the two players, while keep-away does not have this restriction. Monkey-in-the-middle is also (usually) played with only three players: the two players and a monkey, wheras keep-away can have any number of people. As a result, the players of keep-away will often try using more trickery to make the (sometimes known as infected) player no longer in between the two passing parties. This relaxing of rules is also where the bullying comes in. Now, this is from my own experience, and I do not claim to be an expert here, but I thought it might be a useful perspective for future discussions. Tyzoid (talk) 14:11, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
 * In NYC we called the game "Monkey In The Middle", while "Keep Away" was something different, which we called "Salugi."74.101.138.135 (talk) 07:14, 23 December 2015 (UTC)AR
 * I never heard the term "Salugi," and I was born and raised in NYC. Is it generational? I was a kid in the mid 80s-90s. 2603:7000:7540:3096:F93A:2F94:1D91:D95F (talk) 00:11, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

Say what?
It's very unclear what the sentence "It is also against the rules to upper cut the butt of another player" is supposed to mean. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.174.255.150 (talk) 23:56, 4 February 2016 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Digital Cultures
— Assignment last updated by RoccNRoll (talk) 01:33, 15 March 2024 (UTC)