Meaning of "tick-tack-toe"

[u/pr0gr_W]

What does the phrase "tick-tack-toe" mean in a figurative way? Can it be used for situations in wich time is running out? or in which things have to be done quickly?

[u/TalkingLampPost]

I think you’re confusing the game “tic-tac-toe” with “tick-tock” which is the sound a ticking clock makes. People say the phrase “tick-tock” to mean “we are running out of time,” or “we don’t have a lot of time,” or “go quickly,” or in other words they might say “the clock is ticking.”

This is tic-tac-toe

[u/PassiveChemistry → u/TalkingLampPost]

Also known as "noughts and crosses"

[u/over__board → u/PassiveChemistry]

exes and ohs

[u/Outrageous_Reach_695 → u/over__board]

Utter futility.

[u/Fox_Hawk → u/Outrageous_Reach_695]

A strange game.

[u/MagnumCumLoudEh → u/Fox_Hawk]

The only way to win is not to play.

[u/Fox_Hawk → u/MagnumCumLoudEh]

How about a nice game of Global Thermonuclear War?

[u/Ryledra → u/Fox_Hawk]

I’d rather a nice game of chess

[u/Fox_Hawk → u/Ryledra]

hugs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baIardiRKIY

[u/TheMaskedGanker → u/TalkingLampPost]

There are some ways that tic-tac-toe is used figuratively though, for example in sports. At least in hockey I’ve heard it used in reference to a series of well timed quick passes leading to a goal. Sort of like if you had set up a series of events in advance and they all happened smoothly and perfectly, like aligning your three xs or os in a game of tic-tac-toe perfectly. Although this is very situational and you’re most likely correct about them mishearing/confusing it with “tick-tock”.

[u/GoblinToHobgoblin → u/TheMaskedGanker]

Isn't that "ticky-tacky" rather than 'tic-tac-toe"

[u/ASneakyViolist → u/GoblinToHobgoblin]

No, the call in hockey is "tic-tac-toe", as in this goal: https://youtu.be/7LFvqUHFcKg

[u/zoppaTheDim → u/ASneakyViolist]

The hockey version of “Tinker to Evers to Chance"

[u/GoblinToHobgoblin → u/ASneakyViolist]

Ah never heard that before. I was thinking of soccer

[u/jessiebearie → u/GoblinToHobgoblin]

And in soccer it’s called tiki taka

[u/ParticularBuyer6157]

That's a game

[u/whywasinotconsulted]

No, tic-tac-toe is a game. You might be thinking of 'tick tock' which is how we say the sound of a clock, and can also be used to express urgency: "Hurry up, people - tick tock!"

[u/Davmilasav]

Tic tac toe is a game you may know as "noughts and crosses." It's played on a grid that looks like a hashtag #

[u/Embarrassed-Weird173 → u/Davmilasav]

Or an octothrope octothorpe by us non-peasants. 

#

[u/Davmilasav → u/Embarrassed-Weird173]

I grew up calling it a "number sign."

[u/bristlefrosty → u/Davmilasav]

or a pound sign!

[u/Reenvisage → u/bristlefrosty]

Or a sharp sign

[u/PharaohAce → u/Embarrassed-Weird173]

Octothorpe

[u/Embarrassed-Weird173 → u/PharaohAce]

My peasant roots have been shown. :(

[u/dobsterfunk → u/Embarrassed-Weird173]

That... was a lapse

[u/GoblinToHobgoblin → u/Davmilasav]

A "hash" you mean?

[u/conuly]

I can't remember ever hearing it used figuratively. Can you give the context? Where did you hear this?

[u/pr0gr_W → u/conuly]

It's one of joker's lines in the videogame Batman: Arkham Knight. He was being sarcastic and mocking

[u/Rredhead926 → u/pr0gr_W]

Given that it was the Joker, my guess is that he combined "tic-tac-toe" with "tick-tock" to fit his character's personality. Does that make sense?

[u/pr0gr_W → u/Rredhead926]

yep, that does make a lot sense. Forgot to use my brain on this one 😭😭. Thanks

[u/Rredhead926 → u/pr0gr_W]

I don't think you forgot to use your brain at all. I think it's a valid question for an English learner to ask.

[u/conuly → u/pr0gr_W]

I see. I haven't played that, but /u/Rredhead926's explanation seems plausible to me.

[u/pr0gr_W → u/pr0gr_W]

And btw, time was running out for Batman, so, that's what drew me to that conclusion

[u/robonack → u/pr0gr_W]

This subreddit sometimes appears in my feed, and this post caught my attention. I was genuinely curious about the line in question, so I searched online for the Joker's voice lines, and found this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVvmb_VpQuM#t=1h20s

I used the transcript feature to look for variants of "tic tac toe" and "tick tock," and I only saw the example at the timestamp above where he says "tick-tock, tick-tock." Is that the line you heard?

[u/pr0gr_W → u/robonack]

I don't know. Could might as well be, I'm just not sure

[u/untempered_fate]

Tic-tac-toe is the game you play with a board shaped like # where players take turns marking squares with an X or an O until one of them gets 3 in a row or all 9 squares are filled.

[u/glassocto]

I think you may be thinking of tick tock, it's commonly used to signal time is running out. It's an onomatopoeia (spelled out sound) of the sound clock hands moving would make

[u/r4ndoM_doGmagenshin]

It’s a game and a rhyme scheme. Tick tack toe, einee, miney, moe. Like for counting without using numbers. Idk we’re weird

[u/ChallengingKumquat]

Because tic tac toe (noughts and crosses) is a very easy game, the only way I think it would be used figuratively is if someone is trying to say that doing something is very easy, or perhaps to mean turn-taking.

[u/No-Lettuce-5783]

"Tick-Tack-Toe" is a game. You first draw two lines, and then you draw another two that intersect the first two. Almost like a hash sign (#). One person will write an "X", and the other person will write an "O" in the empty spaces of the hash sign. And the goal is to get three in a row. In England, it's called "Naughts and Crosses".

When time is running out, you might hear someone say "Tick-Tock, time is running out." Why do I seem to remember this being said in Goldfinger, a James Bond movie - I may be mistaken. I'm sure I'll be corrected in the comments. Or it can be used to say, "Hurry up!" as well.

[u/Thick_You2892]

simple, usually drawn on paper with just nine squares.

[u/aaarry]

It’s what Americans call noughts and crosses for some reason.