The story
From the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1949) by the American songwriter Johnny Marks (1909–1985): “All of the other reindeer / Used to laugh and call him names. / They never let poor Rudolph / Join in any reindeer games.”
First known use, by meaning
- from 1980s Activities which exclude outsiders.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.