For daily wit & wisdom, get the Almanac newsletter.

Why is the game cat's cradle called that?

Question
Why is the game cat’s cradle called that?

Answer

It is thought to be a corruption of cratch-cradle, or the manger cradle in which baby Jesus was laid (cratch standing for creche, French for “rack” or “manger”), but this is only conjecture on the part of linguists.