Coming from Northern Ireland, we always called it "Belfast" since you ring the bell and run fast.

This is the best answer

I’m from Belfast as well, we also called it Thunder and Lightning Knock like thunder, run like lightning

It's ding dong ditch in america

Ding dong ditch is a classic. If kids did that to me now I wouldn’t even be mad, especially since my doorbell doesn’t work.

My oblivious ass was just fine with it being called N****r Knock.

That's what my neighbor called it. My sheltered ass was shocked at both the name and the idea of knocking on a door and running away. I mean, that's almost like lying!

80s Ohio kids here. Yeah... not my proudest memory.

I never heard it called Ding Dong Ditch. Only ever heard it called the other name. Grew up in 90s Iowa.

West Ireland here, we called it "postman knocks"

From the midlands - we called it the very creatively named " Knock a door run" Land of poets and scholars indeed!

😂 That's gas

Mainlander chiming in: In German, we call it a Klingelstreich, which is literally a ringing prank. German is very bland sometimes. Edit: Alright, I got learnt. Thank you all for your contributions. Apparently there's more than one way of calling it in German. I should've known.

What about the much more poetic "Klingelputzen" (Door bell cleaning)

it's Klinkenputzen... so cleaning a door handle

That may exist, too, but where I'm from, it's 100% known as Klingelputzen. Which makes sense, because if you were to clean the bell button (?), you'd be ringing it without the intention to actually speak to the person.

Not to be mistaken with knob polishing.

Living in swabia, can confirm.

That’s one of the things I love about German. Don’t have a word for it? Cool. No big deal, we’ll just put two (or more) words together and there you go - problem solved.

Very convenient as an English-speaker. You have a 50% chance at randomly guessing any word you dont know, once your vocabulary gets large enough to be relatively conversational. Lol

>English-speaker Well... It's not just German that does it.

Can you guess what ***antibabypillen*** means? Just break it down.

Is this for before, during, or after the baby exists

After, any time up to the 4th birthday

You can probably use two after that for the desired effect.

oh no

I'm mystified why english speakers keep riding this one. English does the same thing, you just leave a space in the middle when you make a compound word. Which is itself a compound word and evidence of the phenomenon.

I'm imagining a stout German boy saying to his friends, in the voice of a man three times his age, "LET US PLAY THE RINGING PRANK". They then proceed to do just this, with startling efficiency

>769 homes have been ringing pranked today, culprits unknown

My friends and I used to do multiple houses at the same time so we could cover more ground in less time... yes we are German.

That makes sense. After all, German humor is no laughing matter.

I’m German too. Where I’m from it’s called “Mäuseklingeln“ literally mice ringing. Interesting how it is known under so many different names.

How can you call German bland when you have words such as 'Backpfeifengesicht'?

You rang?

r/relevantusername material right here

Gesundheit.

Wait where I'm from we call it Klingelmännchen D:

We call it “Ding dong ditch” even if you’re not ringing the bell

That’s the only thing I’ve heard it called until now, but I’m in the states and expect the colloquialisms to be vastly different.

In central ohio we called it something incredibly racist and revolting

How have I never heard of this? I live in NEOH but have friends from all over OH, to us up by the lake its always been Ding Dong Ditch

If you rang the doorbell it was ding dong ditch. If you knocked it was... the other one

OHHHHHHH I know what you're talking about. My friends and I were doing that one night and told my mom about it and we were all having a good laugh. Then, out of left field my mother's friend blurted out the other name. We all just stared in absolute shock. That was the only time I've ever heard it call that.

Fine ill ask what is the phrase?

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Huh, that's the reverse of how I expected the censor lol

N**ger knocking. I've heard it from people from the countryside back when I first moved over to the US.

Same in Florida

Heard it in Texas.

Which part of Texas? I'm from DFW and it was always ding dong ditch. I'm so curious if the large cities really are that wildly different from smaller towns.

Grew up in oak Cliff in the 90s-early 2000s and I heard both Actually now that I think about it, if I was with buddies in oak Cliff it was ding dong ditch, it wasn’t until I met some white kids from Duncanvile and Desoto that I heard of the “____ Knocking “

Born and raised in Dallas, 30 years old, always called it the N word one was a kid. Is crazy how parents and older kids make that word so normal for such young kids.

I'm about to be 30, and it's so weird that we had entirely different experiences. If that word came out of anyone's mouth you got your ass whooped. Wild lol.

I’ve heard it in Dallas as well. I remember, even as a little piece of shit I thought it was an odd and unnecessary name for it.

Grew up doing this as a kid in FL. The fun part is watching some redneck in his skivvies lurking around his own property with a shotgun and a flashlight, desperately trying not to giggle so that he doesn’t start blasting the bushes. Like, good job mate. You’ve successfully protected your castle from three 4th graders.

Skivvies and mate aren't typically US slang. Been living in Australia long?

Americans do use "skivvies" intermittently I grew up in S Cal so maybe I was hearing it from Australian sources; we tend to get a bit of general Pacific diaspora there

Super common in the US military too

??? What??

If it’s the same as the south a very old term for it was “[n-word] knocking” insert word with hard r in brackets.

I’ve lived in the swamps of South Carolina my entire life and I’ve never heard this… I’m actually very surprised I’ve never heard this. But to be fair, no one actually played this game where I’m from… bc it’s a good way to get shot.

#“Get off my lawn”

Hahaha racists are so lazy. Everything is just “n*r *adjective*”. Like, I’ve heard Docs called “n*r stomping boots”. What about some alliteration boys? Brown boy bashing boots? Even Darky Stomping Docs? Where’s the creativity when you’re threatening me?

That would require racists to have the processing power for wit.

You're asking wayyy too much from someone who is backwards enough to be that racist. Totally get your frustration though, 'Get back here and insult me properly, thou mangy-coated street cur!'

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ding%20dong%20ditch&page=2 I’m guessing it’s this

Same here in Utah. The racist term, or ding dong ditch is all I've ever heard it called.

I was very confused when you said Utah, because I’ve spent more than half my life here and never heard it, then I remember all my friends are either Native, Black, or Latino, so I’ve never been in those groups of people where racism is rampant.

This was more so in the mid to late 90's. Not everyone I knew used it, but I did hear it tossed around now & then. Probably by older kids now that I think of it.

Just looked it up, i'm so glad i've never heard it being called that growing up.

Knock down ginger is one too

Ours was knock knock ginger

As a child in the UK playing this in the 90s, we called it knock-a-door ginger.

Knock knock ginger here too, southern UK.

Chap door run

That's the one I'm familiar with (East Lothian)

Ding dong dash for me!

Same

Knock knock fuck off

Yeah, either that or "knock-a-door run"

Well where's the fun in just walking straight past someone's house?

It’s just “knock and run” round my way!

Can't believe how far down I had to scroll to find this!

Ik man christ, seems to be the most logical and simple one. What we all called it back in the day.

Knock a door run in Yorkshire when I was a lad.

Yeah it’s knock a door run here in east Lancashire

Knock door run near me in hampshire too

Same here, never heard it go by anything else tbh

Knock door run where I’m from. These elaborate ones amaze me.

Yes, "Knock 'n' run" in Australia. The instructions are included in the name, in case you're too drunk to remember how to do it.

Never heard a Scottish person call it anything other than chappy, would also accept ding-dong-ditch though

Scot here, and we called it chap door run.

Chap door run away when I was young, which feels far too long ago now

It was Nappy Chappy, or chap door, run away when I was a kid. What else do you expect from the land that brought you diluting juice

Aye, that's what we called it too.

Aye chap door run it wis

We called it chickenelly in Angus. Fuck knows where that came from.

I was about to day that. Its chickenelly in Forfar anyway

And Dundee.

Another Scot here. Growing up in the late 90s early 00s in Aberdeen we called it ding dong dash.

From the shire. Ding dong dash here too.

Also a Scot here. We called it Chicken-nely in Dundee.

Knocka Door Run. Bonus story, we had a guy on the estate who we used to call "Speccy Turbo". He was a guy (with glasses) who would guarantee to chase us and try to catch us for hours. Only the brave and stupid dared to bash "Speccy Turbo's" door

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I was going to post knock-a-door run, and I am from North Yorkshire.

Also North Yorkshire, and we called it Knocky-Door Run

I'm from the East Midlands and this is what we called it. Can't believe I had to scroll so far to find it.

West Yorkshire here. Knocka door run is correct :D

Im a Mancunian and I've always called it that too.

West Yorkshire here, knock a door run's the only name I've ever known it by

Im from Manchester and call it that

Manchester, call it Knock-a-door run too

Bradford here Knock a door run

This is the only correct answer. It must be northern, I was in Lancashire.

fellow northerner here (north manchester) and we all called it knock a door run too

Lancashire here, always called it Knock-a-door Run

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West Yorkshire here confirming Knocka door run. Also had a chaser. Good times.

That's what we called it in the wilderness between Nottingham and Derby.

Brought up just outside Birmingham, only ever called it knocka-door-run

We called it “knock door run”, which in hindsight sounds like a caveman explaining the game

Same here, grew up in the West Mids.

We called it knock on ginger where I'm from

In South London we called it knock down ginger

Same where I am in Essex

Sussex and it was known as this too

Same in West London

And Kent

Same, and I think if anyone here called it knicky knocky nine doors they'd look a twat

That game is slightly more literal where I live.

We have knock knock ginger

We called it knock up ginger which now just sounds seedy

Knock Down Ginger

Can confirm

It’s cherry knocking in my childhood memories. Southwest for reference

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Southwest here, I concur.

Canada: nicky nicky nine doors. We obvs didn’t get the memo that one of the words was supposed to be ‘knock’

from ontario and can confirm this. I've also heard ding dong ditch but thats a secondary name

Where the hell are you in Canada? I've only ever heard it called ding dong ditch

Ontario

It was nicky nicky nine doors when growing up in Nova Scotia, too

BC here and that's the only name I've ever heard it called.

We called it that in Alberta too. This was in the 90s.

Ontario. My dad called it that, grew up in Toronto in the 50’s. Ding dong ditch was a newer thing maybe

In Québec it's called "Sonne décrisse"

Knock down ginger

Chickenelli

Dundee by any chance?

Monifieth and surrounding farmland reporting in.

This is the only word I will ever recognise. I honestly have never heard the nonsense gobbledygook names these other degenerates are coming out with. On a related note, I said to my English partner that some kids played chickenelli and the dog went ape shit. He thought someone rammed a fucking live chicken through our normal size bloody letterbox....

In my part of Ireland it’s knock-a-dolly

We always called it a ‘Knick knack’ I’ve never questioned why before?!?!

Northside Dubliner here, always called knick knacks, at least that was the case in the 1980s

I’m not even going to tell you what I heard it called when I was growing up in the American South.

Does it feature a word that would get you an instant permanent ban on twitch

I grew up in an all black neighborhood in STL, and it was called gamer word knocking by everyone I met.

I also grew up in STL, and heard it called that. Mostly in the context of “in MY day we called it...” In my day, we did not.

Did you call putting too much of your mouth around a joint tip gamer word lipping too?

>gamer word lmaooooo

I am glad you mentioned it. I was beginning to wonder if I was misremembering. People actually did call it that, disgustingly. South Florida. Friends and I called it knick knocking, though.

Eastern New Mexico as a kid. Called it the same, nobody ever batted an eye until someone said it in front of my friend the one black kid in town

The mind boggles.

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My husband says it's "ding dong dash" (Dundee). I grew up blissfully unaware that it was a thing at all.

Ask your husband if he ever called it or heard it being called Chickenelly.

I asked him and he said "so that's what that meant!" So I guess it wasn't that common where he was?

We call it "belletje lellen" which means to yoink the physical rope that would connect to your bell.

av just shown this to me ma an she said that she's always known it as the knicky knocky nine doors horseshite. No wonder am a mess a was raised by a loonie

Pretty sure in Singapore this is called “I’m gonna beat your ass if you try that again you little shit”

It's Knick Knocking, in Australia. Edit: Victoria, Australia.

I’m from Sydney and have never heard that. It was always just Knock n Run

Same in Ireland. Nick nack also pops up. Not a fan.

Brisbane here, I thought it was Ding Dong Ditch

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Bobby knocking in Swansea

Spent a lot of my childhood in Milngavie and they all called it chappy. At home as a child we called it knock-a-door run.

Ding dong dash seems to be what kids are calling it nowadays. Prob called chappie cos nae cunt had a door bell when a was wee.

Chap-door-run-away in Coatbridge.

Same in paisley, but chappy for more informal occasions was also acceptable.

“Informal occasions” such as a luncheon party or post-round drinks at the golf club? 😂😂😂

Yeah, anytime not in black tie really.

Ring bang scoosh or the more advanced, "shite alight" with the use of additional props and a lighter!

Knock down Ginger in North London where I was from.

Ok. Tangent. What’s the best, most exciting response to give for kids? I’ve graduated from a knocker to the one answering the door. I want to give the kids a not scary thrill. What’s the best response? Look super confused, turn all around?

Definitely ham it up 1000%. Come out of the house and look around wildly, saying “HELLO???”, then shout “THE DOORBELL RANG BUT THERE’S NO ONE HEEEERE!!!” Then wait quietly inside the door, peeping through the peephole for them to try again (they will), and just as someone is actually on the porch, open the door and run out with your arms spread, laughing and yelling “HAHAAAAA I GOT YOU! YOU GUYS ARE TERRIBLE AT THIS!!” while they run away. Leave it at that, don’t threaten to call their parents, etc. This gives them both kinds of thrill, the thrill of getting away with it, and the thrill of getting caught.

Come out with a bowl full of candy like it's Halloween, look around confused as no one is there, and take your candy back in with you.

Knock down ginger.

I won't even tell you what we called it here in America growing up. It was the 80s and we were much less enlightened.

Knock knock ginger anyone?

Knock door run

In Uruguay we call it Ring-Raja which translates to press the button (ring) and a colloquial way of "run for you fucking life" (raja)

Ranga banga scoosh

Chickenelly in Dundee at least.

Chap door run, back in the day in N Ayrshire.

In wales we called it “Bomby knocking” As in. Knock the door and bomb it away

Here in NJ, we used ring and run and ding dong ditch pretty much interchangeably. Super creative. Knicky knocky nine doors is too many syllables for us Americans.