blind-man's-buffn.
/ˌblʌɪnd manz ˈbʌf/ 1. A game in which one player is blindfolded, and tries to catch and identify any one of the others, who, on their part, push him about, and make sport with him.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > parlour and party games > [noun] > blind-man's-buff, etc.
hoodman-blind1565
hoodwink1574
Hob-man blind1599
blind-man's-buff1600
bob and hit1611
Harry racket1611
blind-bob1783
bond-man-blind1783
jingling match1801
pawn party1831
blind-hob1834
shadow buff1879
Blind Tom1909
1600 S. Rowlands Letting of Humors Blood iv. 64 At hot-cockles, leape-frogge, or blindman-buffe.
1629 J. Gaule Practique Theories Christs Predict. 231 Others make him [Christ] no better then their Pastime, at no more discreet a Sport, then Childs, or Fooles Blind-man-Buffet: Prophecie vnto us, who is he that smote thee?
1634 J. Taylor Great Eater of Kent Gregorie Dawson, an English-man, devised the unmatchable mystery of Blind-man-buffe.
1696 Month. Mercury VII. 55 They oblig'd him to play with 'em at Blindman-Buff.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. xi. 100 Mr. Burchell..set the boys and girls to blindman's buff.
1866 R. Chambers Ess. 1st Ser. 186 The whole parlour put into disorder by blind man's buff.
2. figurative.
ΚΠ
1590 R. Wilson Three Lordes & Three Ladies London Ile to my stall; Love, Lucre, Conscience, blindman buffe to you all.
1643 J. Bramhall Serpent Salve 2 We desire to see what they have done, before we goe to blind-man's buffet one with another.
1648 C. Walker Relations & Observ. ii. 55 Me thinks..we are compelled to play at blind-man-bough for our lives.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. vi. iii. 315 Government by Blind-man's-buff.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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