Etymology

tiddlywink

tid·dly·wink
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Today it means: An unlicensed beerhouse or pawnshop. Full definition →

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tiddlywink · noun1

Sense 1 (“unlicensed beerhouse or pawnshop”) and sense 2 (“alcoholic drink”) are possibly related to tiddly (“(noun) alcoholic beverage; (adjective) somewhat drunk”).

tiddlywink · noun, verb2

The noun is possibly derived from tiddly (“(informal) little, tiny”) + wink (“blinking of one eye”), perhaps borrowed from etymology 1. The game, now called tiddlywinks, was patented by a British bank clerk, Joseph Assheton Fincher (1863–1900), on 19 October 1889, and the name Tiddledy-Winks trademarked by him the same year. The verb is derived from the noun.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.