barley over int also barl over*, bar over*, barrelover. Cp EDD barley int 'cry for truce in a game'; OED barley-break 'Prisoner's Bar' [catching game] (1557-1837); I. & P. OPIE Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (1959), p. 150. See BAR² n. In a game similar to hide-and-seek, cry uttered by the blindfolded player as he uncovers his eyes and begins to search; the game itself.
   T 169/206-65¹ Barl over was a game where one feller went blind, and he counted up to a certain number while everyone was hiding. His aim would be to try to hunt out all those that hid. T 199-65 The boys'd be playing bar over... If everybody gets home free, he has to do it all over again. Bar over we used to call it. 1967 Bk of Nfld iv, 242 ... time lost from studies ... playing so much 'scout' and 'barrelover' and engaging in other non-productive activities. M 68-21 Of course we played hide-and-go-seek. We called it bar-over.

Go Back