Word.ws English Dictionary

reindeer games

Syllables: rein·deer games/ˈɹeɪndɪə ˌɡeɪmz/US/ˈɹeɪndɪ(ə)ɹ ˌɡeɪmz/

reindeer games noun: activities which exclude outsiders.

Noun

reindeer games pl (plural only)

  1. (US, informal, plural, plural-only) Activities which exclude outsiders.
    • The natives are a primitive but gregarious lot. They invited me to join them in their reindeer games, which I did.1984, Joseph Dougherty, Digby: A Play, New York, N.Y.: Dramatists Play Service, published 1986, →OCLC, page 68
    • Transfer to Washington. Transfer to Jefferson. No one at Westerburg's going to let you play their reindeer games.1989, Daniel Waters, Heathers, spoken by Heather Chandler (Kim Walker)

Examples of reindeer games in a sentence

  • If you do, you'll find out quickly that you're no longer invited to any of the really good reindeer games.2006, Christopher Duncan, “Managing Your Management”, in Dominic Shakeshaft, editor, The Career Programmer: Guerilla^([sic]) Tactics for an...
  • Some fighter pilot traditions have taken on the air of reindeer games—they are nothing more than something one has to be a fighter pilot to understand.2007, Jonathan C. Dowty, “Fighter Pilot Traditions”, in Christian Fighter Pilot is Not an Oxymoron, [U.S.A.?]: [Jonathan C. Dowty], →ISBN...
  • In his own private protest, he had long since consciously decided not to play their reindeer games.2009 April, Robert Asprin, “Prologue”, in Dragons Luck, New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →ISBN:
  • Lyndon was with me and not with Hope so whether the two of them shut me out of their reindeer games or included me, it didn't matter one iota to me.2014, Latonya D. Young, “The Promise of Forever”, in Secrets in Love, [Morrisville, N.C.]: Lulu Publishing, →ISBN, page 86:

Origin of reindeer games

From the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1949) by the American songwriter Johnny Marks (1909–1985): “All of the other reindeer / Used to laugh and call him names. / They never let poor Rudolph / Join in any reindeer games.”

Questions about reindeer games

What does reindeer games mean?
Reindeer games means activities which exclude outsiders.
How do you use reindeer games in a sentence?
If you do, you'll find out quickly that you're no longer invited to any of the really good reindeer games.
What part of speech is reindeer games?
Reindeer games is a noun.
How do you pronounce reindeer games?
Reindeer games is pronounced /ˈɹeɪndɪə ˌɡeɪmz/ (UK).

Words near reindeer games in the dictionary

  1. reincurs
  2. reincursion
  3. reincursions
  4. reindeer
  5. reindeer corn
  6. reindeer games
  7. Reindeer Lake
  8. reindeer moss
  9. reindeer mosses
  10. reindeer spitz
  11. reindeer spitzes

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: reindeer games (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-reindeer games.wav.

Cite this entry: “reindeer games.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/reindeer_games. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.