Via Wikipedia
The knife game, pinfinger, nerve, bishop, stabscotch, five finger fillet (FFF), or "stab between the fingers game", is a game
wherein, placing the palm of one's hand
down on a table with fingers apart, using a
knife (such as a pocket or pen knife), or
other sharp object, one attempts to stab
back and forth between one's fingers,
moving the object back and forth, trying to
not hit one's fingers. The game is
intentionally dangerous, exposing players
to the risk of injury and scarring, and,
before antibiotics, an incision or
penetration risked sepsis and death. A
foldable blade carries the additional
danger that, "as the faster you go, the
more likely the blade will fold back in on
itself trapping the finger of your stabbinghand."
It may be played much more
safely by using another object, such as the
eraser side of a pencil. In European culture
it is traditionally considered a boys'
game.
However, its focus on motor
coordination and dexterity is comparable
to girls' clapping games.
Among our rowdy amusements
[exiled in Siberia] was a popular
knife game. You place the palm of
your hand flat on a table with
fingers apart. Then you stab back
and forth between the fingers, trying not to hit them. The faster
you stab, the better, and the
fastest one wins. I still have a
visible scar...as a reminder of this
game. I don't know why we did
such a dumb thing, but it seemed
like the manly thing to do at the
time.
— John Armonas (b. 1939),
Lithuanian Soviet exile,
autobiography
It was a macho thing to have a
jacknife when I was young [in
North Dakota] and even manlier
to play dangerous games with it.
One of our pocketknife games
was...mumbly-peg....A more
dangerous game was just called
the Knife Game, also sometimes
known as the FFF (five-finger
fillets). This game challenged
your coordination as you tried to
stab a knife between your
outstretched fingers while holding your palm down on the
ground or on a table. Whoever
could do that the fastest in an
allotted time was the winner. The
loser was the slowest—or the one
who stabbed his hand or finger. I
was the big loser one time,...it left
an obvious scar...displaying
validation of rituals confirming
manhood.
— Herb Hicks (b. 1934), musician, autobiography.
