Meanings
nounpattycake (uncountable)
alternative pat-a-cake · alternative patacake
- uncountablechildren's gamesA children's game in which two people alternately clap their own and each other's hands, often to the accompaniment of the nursery rhyme "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man".
- colloquialuncountableA childish or time-wasting activity.
“Stalin's boys don't play pattycake with people like Mr. Kravchenko.”
2007, Gary Kern, The Kravchenko Case: One Man's War on Stalin, page 671 more example
This Cherokee County Sheriff goes about two-fifty and he don't play pattycake. He's gonna wanna know where you were yesterday.
2001, Dennis J. Reardon, Plays, page 31
Translations
Dutch handjeklap, handjeplak
- handjeklapchildren's game in which two people alternately clap their own and each other's hands
- handjeplakchildren's game in which two people alternately clap their own and each other's hands
Portuguese adoleta
- adoletachildren's game in which two people alternately clap their own and each other's hands
Russian ла́душки
- ла́душки (láduški)children's game in which two people alternately clap their own and each other's hands
Spanish arepitas
- arepitaschildren's game in which two people alternately clap their own and each other's hands
Cite this entry
APA
pattycake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pattycake
MLA
“pattycake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pattycake. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pattycake,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pattycake.
Source: pattycake on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.