piñata

[ pin-yah-tuh; Spanish pee-nyah-tah ]

noun

, plural pi·ña·tas [pin-, yah, -t, uh, z, pee-, nyah, -tahs].

1. (in Mexico and Central America) colorful papier-mâché figure or cheerfully decorated crock filled with toys, candy, etc., and suspended from above, especially during Christmas or birthday festivities, so that children, who are blindfolded, may break it or knock it down with sticks and release the contents.

piñata

/ ˌpɪnˈjata /

noun

1. a papier-mâché party decoration filled with sweets, hung up during parties, and struck with a stick until it breaks open

Word History and Origins

Origin of piñata¹

1885–90; < Spanish: literally, pot < Italian pignatta, probably derivative of dial. pigna pinecone (from the pot's shape) < Latin pīnea, noun use of feminine of pīneus of the pine tree; pine ¹, -eous

Word History and Origins

Origin of piñata¹

Spanish, from Italian pignatta , probably from dialect pigna , from Latin pinea pine cone

Example Sentences

The footage is of five Memphis police officers savagely beating him like a "human pinata."

From Salon

Ben Crump, who is the Nichols family attorney, said that the five Memphis police officers beat Tyre like a "human pinata."

From Salon

Lawyers for his family said the officers acted like a "pack of wolves" and beat him "like a human pinata".

From BBC

A lawyer described the beating shown in the video — “he was a human pinata” — and Wells turned her head away, burying her face into her hands.

From Seattle Times

A couple of recent elections and dramatic new polling, however, show that Hispanic voters are fleeing the Democrat Party faster than candy flying out of a pinata.

From Washington Times