kuka pelkää mustaa miestä

Finnish

Etymology

Literally "Who Is Afraid of the Black Man?". The game is of German origin (German Wer hat Angst vorm schwarzen Mann) and is based on traditional children's games that have been played for centuries. German medievalists and folklorists assume that the game exists since the Middle Ages, closely linked to the era of Black Death.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkukɑ ˈpelkæː ˈmustɑː ˈmie̯stæ/, [ˈkukɑ̝ ˈpe̞lk̟æː ˈmus̠tɑ̝ː ˈmie̞s̠tæ]

Noun

kuka pelkää mustaa miestä (dated, indeclinable)

1. British Bulldog (children's game)

   Synonyms: kuka pelkää mustekalaa, kuka pelkää jäämiestä

Interjection

kuka pelkää mustaa miestä (dated)

1. The phrase used in the above game to signify that players should start running from one end of the field to the other.

   Synonyms: kuka pelkää mustekalaa, kuka pelkää jäämiestä

Usage notes

• Once the most common term, this name is sometimes considered politically incorrect due to the connotation of "black man" and "evil" (initially the "Black Man" was a synonym for the bogeyman in many European countries); because of this, the game is recently known under a variety of names, including but not limited to kuka pelkää jäämiestä (literally “who is afraid of the iceman”), kuka pelkää mustekalaa (literally “who is afraid of the octopus”) (as is the interjection) or simply mustekala.
• Not inflected on its own, although it could be by using a compound such as "kuka pelkää mustaa miestä -leikki".