history of pichenotte and crokinole game boards Ontario Canada hockey carrom carroms Quebec pichenolle

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www.virtualmuseum.ca	So we did what every adventurous person does these days - went hunting on the web. We found the The Quebec Museum of Civilization has documentation relative to the existence of pichenotte. Also known to them as 'pichenolle' . Apparently someone didn't cross the "t's", since there is no such word as pichenolle in the dictionary. Or perhaps someone made up a new name. We have since seen many spellings: Pichenotte - pronounced "peesh-nut" Pichenette - pronounced "peesh-net Pichenolle - pronounced "peesh-noal" Pichenot - pronounced "peesh-noh" Pichenet - pronounced "peesh-nay" What does it mean?
The word "pichenotte" is a old French verb that means "to flick". <Larousse Dictionary 1953> It is also a French-Canadian slang for flicking someone on the ear. Most people have had this done to them or done it to someone else. The pichenotte flick: the motion used to launch the playing pieces.	www.virtualmuseum.ca
	While looking up the name pichenotte, we came across a few other French synonyms like 'chiquenaude', 'croquet' and 'croquignole'. These words also mean "to flick" or "to strike". Croquignole refers to flicking someone on the nose. It seems the French have assigned unique names to flicking different parts of the body! The 'croquignole' definition also led us to the game known as 'crokinole'. An Anglicized form of the word 'croquignole', this new word has been used to describe a game identical to pichenotte. Now, what about the origins of crokinole, and why is the guy in the picture wearing a turban ? Is this a game with Eastern origins?

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