tag

tag¹

—tagger, n. —taglike, adj.

/tag/, n., v., tagged, tagging.

n.

1. a piece or strip of strong paper, plastic, metal, leather, etc., for attaching by one end to something as a mark or label: The price is on the tag.

2. any small hanging or loosely attached part or piece; tatter.

3. a loop of material sewn on a garment so that it can be hung up.

4. a metal or plastic tip at the end of a shoelace, cord, or the like.

5. a license plate for a motor vehicle.

6. Angling. a small piece of tinsel or the like tied to the shank of a hook at the body of an artificial fly.

7. the tail end or concluding part, as of a proceeding.

8. the last words of a speech, scene, act, etc., as in a play; a curtain line.

9. Computers. sentinel (def. 3).

10. an addition to a speech or writing, as the moral of a fable.

11. a quotation added for special effect.

12. a descriptive word or phrase applied to a person, group, organization, etc., as a label or means of identification; epithet.

13. a trite phrase or saying; cliché.

14. Slang. a person's name, nickname, initials, monogram, or symbol.

15. See tag question (def. 1).

16. a traffic ticket.

17. a curlicue in writing.

18. a lock of hair.

19. a matted lock of wool on a sheep.

20. Fox Hunting. the white tip of the tail of a fox.

21. Obs. the rabble.

v.t.

22. to furnish with a tag or tags; attach a tag to.

23. to append as a tag, addition, or afterthought to something else.

24. to attach or give an epithet to; label.

25. to accuse of a violation, esp. of a traffic law; give a traffic ticket to: He was tagged for speeding. The police officer tagged the cars for overtime parking.

26. to hold answerable or accountable for something; attach blame to: The pitcher was tagged with the loss of the game.

27. to set a price on; fix the cost of: The dealer tagged the boat at $500 less than the suggested retail price.

28. to write graffiti on.

29. Informal. to follow closely: I tagged him to an old house on the outskirts of town.

30. to remove the tags of wool from (a sheep).

v.i.

31. to follow closely; go along or about as a follower: to tag after someone; to tag along behind someone.

32. to write graffiti.

[1375-1425; late ME tagge (n.); c. MLG, Norw tagge, Sw tagg pointed protruding part; akin to TACK¹]

tag²

/tag/, n., v., tagged, tagging.

n.

1. a children's game in which one player chases the others in an effort to touch one of them, who then takes the role of pursuer.

2. Baseball. an act or instance of tagging a base runner.

v.t.

3. to touch in or as if in the game of tag.

4. Baseball.

a. to touch (a base runner) with the ball held in the hand or glove.

b. to hit (a pitched ball) solidly.

c. to make a number of hits or runs as specified in batting against (a pitcher): They tagged him for two hits in the first and three hits and two runs in the third.

5. Boxing. to strike (an opponent) with a powerful blow.

6. tag up, Baseball. (of a base runner) to touch the base occupied before attempting to advance a base, after the catch of a fly ball: He tagged up and scored from third on a long fly to center.

[1730-40; perh. special use of TAG¹]

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▪ game

also called  touch , or  tig 

       children's game in which, in its simplest form, the player who is “it” chases the other players, trying to touch one of them, thereby making that person “it.” The game is known by many names, such as leapsa in Romania and kynigito in parts of modern Greece. In some variants the children pretend that the touch carries some form of contagion—e.g., plague (Italy), leprosy (Madagascar), fleas (Spain), or “lurgy fever” (Great Britain). In others, a method of achieving immunity from touch is prescribed, as by touching wood, iron, or a specified colour or assuming a particular position (e.g., squatting). Often limitations or handicaps are imposed on the chaser: the child may be required to clasp hands and imitate a horned animal (stag, bull, or goat) or squat and hop like a frog while the others caper freely around him. In some games the chaser throws a ball at the intended victim. As a game progresses, the original chaser may enlist those touched to help catch the others; sometimes the captives link hands to form a chain, with the players on either end making the capture.

      Suspense is an important element of certain elaborations of the game: in ostrakinda, described by the 2nd-century Greek writer Julius Pollux, two teams stood on either side of a line. A shell was spun or tossed in the air, and one team chased the other according to which side of the shell turned up. In another form, the chaser turns his back and walks slowly away, while the others follow at a short distance and chant a rhyme or ask a question (“What's the time, Mr. Bear?”). The chaser then turns suddenly, sometimes shouting a certain word or phrase (“Dinnertime!”), and pursues them.

      In still another version, players must run from one safety zone to another across a central area where the chaser waits for them (this game is known as black peter in central Europe, wall-to-wall in Great Britain, and pom-pom-pullaway in the United States). In addition, there are also freeze tag and group tag. With freeze tag, the tagged person cannot move until someone from his team “unfreezes” him with a touch. In group tag the child touching a safe area (often known as home base) can hold onto another child, that child in turn does the same, and a human chain of safety is created with children who cannot be tagged.

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