Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
HANDIKRUPPEN, n. Also handy-croopen; haand-de-kroopin. A boy's game in which one of the players stands facing a wall with one hand behind his back; the others then strike him on the hand in turn until he guesses the name of the striker correctly when the two change places (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl., 1908 Jak. (1928)). Instead of facing the wall the boy sometimes lies face downwards and receives a slight blow on the back (Jak.).Sh. 1899 J. Spence Folk-Lore 190:
They amused themselves with such games as hunt-da-slipper, wads, and haand-de-kroopin.
