tetherball

[ teth-er-bawl ]

noun

1. a game for two persons, in which each player, standing on each side of a post from the top of which a ball is suspended by a cord, hits the ball with the hand or a paddle in a direction opposite to that in which the other player hits it, the object being to coil the cord completely around the post.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tetherball¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; tether + ball ¹

Example Sentences

Is it any wonder that control of Congress is swinging back and forth like a tetherball?

From The Daily Beast