The word trick or treat

Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase «trick or treat». The «treat» is some form of confectionery, usually candy/sweets, although in some cultures money is given instead. The «trick» refers to a threat, usually idle, to perform mischief on the resident(s) or their property if no treat is given. Some people signal that they are willing to hand out treats by putting up Halloween decorations outside their doors; houses may also leave their porch lights on as a universal indicator that they have candy; some simply leave treats available on their porches for the children to take freely, on the honor system.

The history of trick-or-treating traces back to Scotland and Ireland, where the tradition of guising, going house to house at Halloween and putting on a small performance to be rewarded with food or treats, goes back at least as far as the 16th century, as does the tradition of people wearing costumes at Halloween. There are many accounts from 19th-century Scotland and Ireland of people going house to house in costume at Halloween, reciting verses in exchange for food, and sometimes warning of misfortune if they were not welcomed.^[1][2] In North America, the earliest known occurrence of guising – children going from house to house for food or money while disguised in costume^[2] – is from 1911, when children were recorded as having done this in the province of Ontario, Canada.^[3] The interjection «trick or treat!» was then first recorded in the same Canadian province of Ontario in 1917. While going house to house in costume has long been popular among the Scots and Irish, it is only in the 2000s that saying «trick or treat» has become common in Scotland and Ireland.^[4] Prior to this, children in Ireland would commonly say «help the Halloween party» at the doors of homeowners.^[4]

The activity is prevalent in the Anglospheric countries of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, Canada, and Australia. It also has extended into Mexico. In northwestern and central Mexico, the practice is called calaverita (Spanish diminutive for calavera, «skull» in English), and instead of «trick or treat», the children ask, «¿Me da mi calaverita?» («[Can you] give me my little skull?»), where a calaverita is a small skull made of sugar or chocolate.

History[edit]

Ancient precursors[edit]

Traditions similar to the modern custom of trick-or-treating extend all the way back to classical antiquity, although it is extremely unlikely that any of them are directly related to the modern custom. The ancient Greek writer Athenaeus of Naucratis records in his book The Deipnosophists that, in ancient times, the Greek island of Rhodes had a custom in which children would go from door-to-door dressed as swallows, singing a song, which demanded the owners of the house to give them food and threatened to cause mischief if the owners of the house refused.^[5][6][7] This tradition was claimed to have been started by the Rhodian lawgiver Cleobulus.^[8]

Souling[edit]

Since the Middle Ages, a tradition of mumming on a certain holiday has existed in parts of Britain and Ireland. It involved going door-to-door in costume, performing short scenes or parts of plays in exchange for food or drink. The custom of trick-or-treating on Halloween may come from the belief that supernatural beings, or the souls of the dead, roamed the earth at this time and needed to be appeased.

It may otherwise have originated in a Celtic festival, Samhain, held on 31 October–1 November, to mark the beginning of winter, in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, and Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany. The festival is believed to have pre-Christian roots. In the 9th century, the Catholic Church made 1 November All Saints’ Day. Among Celtic-speaking peoples, it was seen as a liminal time, when the spirits or fairies (the Aos Sí), and the souls of the dead, came into our world and were appeased with offerings of food and drink. Similar beliefs and customs were found in other parts of Europe. It is suggested that trick-or-treating evolved from a tradition whereby people impersonated the spirits, or the souls of the dead, and received offerings on their behalf. S. V. Peddle suggests they «personify the old spirits of the winter, who demanded reward in exchange for good fortune».^[10] Impersonating these spirits or souls was also believed to protect oneself from them.^[11]

Starting as far back as the 15th century, among Christians, there had been a custom of sharing soul-cakes at Allhallowtide (October 31 through November 2).^[12][13] People would visit houses and take soul-cakes, either as representatives of the dead, or in return for praying for their souls.^[14] Later, people went «from parish to parish at Halloween, begging soul-cakes by singing under the windows some such verse as this: ‘Soul, souls, for a soul-cake; Pray you good mistress, a soul-cake!'»^[15] They typically asked for «mercy on all Christian souls for a soul-cake».^[16] It was known as ‘Souling’ and was recorded in parts of Britain, Flanders, southern Germany, and Austria.^[17] Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of «puling [whimpering or whining] like a beggar at Hallowmas».^[18] In western England, mostly in the counties bordering Wales, souling was common.^[13] According to one 19th century English writer «parties of children, dressed up in fantastic costume […] went round to the farm houses and cottages, singing a song, and begging for cakes (spoken of as «soal-cakes»), apples, money, or anything that the goodwives would give them».^[19]

Guising[edit]

In Scotland and Ireland, «guising» – children going from door to door in disguise – is traditional, and a gift in the form of food, coins or «apples or nuts for the Halloween party» (and in more recent times, chocolate) is given out to the children.^[4][20][21] The tradition is called «guising» because of the disguises or costumes worn by the children.^[2][22] In the West Mid Scots dialect, guising is known as «galoshans».^[23] In Scotland, youths went house to house in white with masked, painted or blackened faces, reciting rhymes and often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed.^[24][25]

Guising has been recorded in Scotland since the 16th century, often at New Year. The Kirk Session records of Elgin name men and women who danced at New Year 1623. Six men, described as guisers or «gwysseris» performed a sword dance wearing masks and visors covering their faces in the churchyard and in the courtyard of a house. They were each fined 40 shillings.^[26]

A record of guising at Halloween in Scotland in 1895 describes masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, visit homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit, and money.^[27] In Ireland, children in costumes would commonly say «Help the Halloween Party» at the doors of homeowners.^[4][28]

Halloween masks are referred to as «false faces» in Ireland and Scotland.^[29][30] A writer using Scots language recorded guisers in Ayr, Scotland in 1890:

I had mind it was Halloween . . . the wee callans were at it already, rinning aboot wi’ their fause-faces (false faces) on and their bits o’ turnip lanthrons (lanterns) in their haun (hand).^[30]

Guising also involved going to wealthy homes, and in the 1920s, boys went guising at Halloween up to the affluent Thorntonhall, South Lanarkshire.^[31] An account of guising in the 1950s in Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, records a child receiving 12 shillings and sixpence, having knocked on doors throughout the neighbourhood and performed.^[32] Growing up in Derry, Northern Ireland in the 1960s, The Guardian journalist Michael Bradley recalls children asking, “Any nuts or apples?”.^[33] In Scotland and Ireland, the children are only supposed to receive treats if they perform a party trick for the households they go to. This normally takes the form of singing a song or reciting a joke or a funny poem which the child has memorised before setting out.^[32][20] While going from door to door in disguise has remained popular among Scots and Irish at Halloween, the North American saying «trick-or-treat» has become common in the 2000s.^[4][28]

Spread to North America[edit]

The earliest known occurrence of the practice of guising at Halloween in North America is from 1911, when a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada reported on children going «guising» around the neighborhood.^[3]

American historian and author Ruth Edna Kelley of Massachusetts wrote the first book length history of the holiday in the US; The Book of Hallowe’en (1919), and references souling in the chapter «Hallowe’en in America»; «The taste in Hallowe’en festivities now is to study old traditions, and hold a Scotch party, using Burn’s poem Hallowe’en as a guide; or to go a-souling as the English used. In short, no custom that was once honored at Hallowe’en is out of fashion now.»^[34] Kelley lived in Lynn, Massachusetts, a town with 4,500 Irish immigrants, 1,900 English immigrants, and 700 Scottish immigrants in 1920.^[35] In her book, Kelley touches on customs that arrived from across the Atlantic; «Americans have fostered them, and are making this an occasion something like what it must have been in its best days overseas. All Hallowe’en customs in the United States are borrowed directly or adapted from those of other countries».^[36]

While the first reference to «guising» in North America occurs in 1911, another reference to ritual begging on Halloween appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920.^[37]

The emergence of «Trick or treat!»[edit]

The interjection «Trick or treat!» — a request for sweets or candy, originally and sometimes still with the implication that anyone who is asked and who does not provide sweets or other treats will be subjected to a prank or practical joke — seems to have arisen in central Canada, before spreading into the northern and western United States in the 1930s and across the rest of the United States through the 1940s and early 1950s.^[38] Initially it was often found in variant forms, such as «tricks or treats,» which was used in the earliest known case, a 1917 report in The Sault Daily Star in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario:^[39]

Almost everywhere you went last night, particularly in the early part of the evening, you would meet gangs of youngsters out to celebrate. Some of them would have adopted various forms of «camouflage» such as masks, or would appear in long trousers and big hats or with long skirts. But others again didn’t. . . . «Tricks or treats» you could hear the gangs call out, and if the householder passed out the «coin» for the «treats» his establishment would be immune from attack until another gang came along that knew not of or had no part in the agreement.^[40]

As shown by word sleuth Barry Popik,^[41] who also found the first use from 1917,^[39] variant forms continued, with «trick or a treat» found in Chatsworth, Ontario in 1921,^[42] «treat up or tricks» and «treat or tricks» found in Edmonton, Alberta in 1922,^[43] and «treat or trick» in Penhold, Alberta in 1924.^[44] The now canonical form of «trick or treat» was first seen in 1917 in Chatsworth, only one day after the Sault Ste. Marie use,^[45] but «tricks or treats» was still in use in the 1966 television special, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.^[41]

The thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the start of the 20th century and the 1920s commonly show children but do not depict trick-or-treating.^[46] The editor of a collection of over 3,000 vintage Halloween postcards writes, «There are cards which mention the custom [of trick-or-treating] or show children in costumes at the doors, but as far as we can tell they were printed later than the 1920s and more than likely even the 1930s. Tricksters of various sorts are shown on the early postcards, but not the means of appeasing them».^[47]

Trick-or-treating does not seem to have become a widespread practice until the 1930s, with the first U.S. appearance of the term in 1932,^[48] and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939.^[49]

Behavior similar to trick-or-treating was more commonly associated with Thanksgiving from 1870 (shortly after that holiday’s formalization) until the 1930s. In New York City, a Thanksgiving ritual known as Ragamuffin Day involved children dressing up as beggars and asking for treats, which later evolved into dressing up in more diverse costumes.^[50][51] Increasing hostility toward the practice in the 1930s eventually led to the begging aspects being dropped, and by the 1950s, the tradition as a whole had ceased.

Increased popularity[edit]

Almost all pre-1940 uses of the term «trick-or-treat» are from the United States and Canada. Trick-or-treating spread throughout the United States, stalled only by World War II sugar rationing that began in April, 1942 and lasted until June, 1947.^[52][53]

Early national attention to trick-or-treating was given in October, 1947 issues of the children’s magazines Jack and Jill and Children’s Activities,^[54] and by Halloween episodes of the network radio programs The Baby Snooks Show in 1946 and The Jack Benny Show and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in 1948.^[55] Trick-or-treating was depicted in the Peanuts comic strip in 1951.^[56] The custom had become firmly established in popular culture by 1952, when Walt Disney portrayed it in the cartoon Trick or Treat, and Ozzie and Harriet were besieged by trick-or-treaters on an episode of their television show.^[57] In 1953 UNICEF first conducted a national campaign for children to raise funds for the charity while trick-or-treating.^[58]

Although some popular histories of Halloween have characterized trick-or-treating as an adult invention to re-channel Halloween activities away from Mischief Night vandalism, there are very few records supporting this. Des Moines, Iowa is the only area known to have a record of trick-or-treating being used to deter crime.^[59] Elsewhere, adults, as reported in newspapers from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, typically saw it as a form of extortion, with reactions ranging from bemused indulgence to anger.^[60] Likewise, as portrayed on radio shows, children would have to explain what trick-or-treating was to puzzled adults, and not the other way around. Sometimes even the children protested: for Halloween 1948, members of the Madison Square Boys Club in New York City carried a parade banner that read «American Boys Don’t Beg.»^[61] The National Confectioners Association reported in 2005 that 80 percent of adults in the United States planned to give out confectionery to trick-or-treaters,^[62] and that 93 percent of children, teenagers, and young adults planned to go trick-or-treating or participating in other Halloween activities.^[63]

Phrase introduction to the UK and Ireland[edit]

Despite the concept of trick-or-treating originating in Britain and Ireland in the form of souling and guising, the use of the term «trick or treat» at the doors of homeowners was not common until the 1980s, with its popularisation in part through the release of the film E.T.^[64] Guising requires those going door-to-door to perform a song or poem without any jocular threat,^[32] and according to one BBC journalist, in the 1980s, «trick or treat» was still often viewed as an exotic and not particularly welcome import, with the BBC referring to it as «the Japanese knotweed of festivals» and «making demands with menaces».^[65] In Ireland before the phrase «trick or treat» became common in the 2000s, children would say «Help the Halloween Party».^[4] Very often, the phrase «trick or treat» is simply said and the revellers are given sweets, with the choice of a trick or a treat having been discarded.

Etiquette[edit]

Trick-or-treating typically begins at dusk on October 31. Some municipalities choose other dates.^{[66][67][68][69][70][71]} Homeowners wishing to participate sometimes decorate their homes with artificial spider webs, plastic skeletons and jack-o-lanterns. Conversely, those who do not wish to participate may turn off outside lights for the evening or lock relevant gates and fences to keep people from coming onto their property.

In most areas where trick-or-treating is practiced, it is considered an activity for children. Some jurisdictions in the United States forbid the activity for anyone over the age of 12.^[72] Dressing up is common at all ages; adults will often dress up to accompany their children, and young adults may dress up to go out and ask for gifts for a charity.

Local variants[edit]

U.S. and Canada[edit]

Children of the St. Louis, Missouri, area are expected to perform a joke, usually a simple Halloween-themed pun or riddle, before receiving any candy; this «trick» earns the «treat».^[73] Children in Des Moines, Iowa also tell jokes or otherwise perform before receiving their treat.

In some parts of Canada, children sometimes say «Halloween apples» instead of «trick or treat». This probably originated when the toffee apple was a popular type of candy. Apple-giving in much of Canada, however, has been taboo since the 1960s when stories (of almost certainly questionable authenticity) appeared of razors hidden inside Halloween apples; parents began to check over their children’s fruit for safety before allowing them to eat it. In Quebec, children also go door to door on Halloween. However, in French-speaking neighbourhoods, instead of «Trick or treat», they will simply say «Halloween», though it traditionally used to be «La charité, s’il-vous-plaît» («Charity, please»).^[74]

Trunk-or-treat[edit]

Some organizations around the United States and Canada sponsor a «trunk-or-treat» on Halloween night (or, on occasion, a day immediately preceding Halloween, or a few days from it, on a weekend, depending on what is convenient). Trunk-or-treating is done from parked car to parked car in a local parking lot, often at a school or church. The activity makes use of the open trunks of the cars, which display candy, and often games and decorations. Some parents regard trunk-or-treating as a safer alternative to trick-or-treating,^[75] while other parents see it as an easier alternative to walking the neighborhood with their children.

This annual event began in the mid-1990s as a «fall festival» for an alternative to trick-or-treating, but became «trunk-or-treat» two decades later. Some have called for more city or community group-sponsored trunk-or-treats, so they can be more inclusive.^[76] By 2006 these had become increasingly popular.^[77]

Portugal[edit]

In Portugal, children go from house to house in All Saints Day and All Souls Day, carrying pumpkin carved lanterns called coca,^[78] asking everyone they see for Pão-por-Deus singing rhymes where they remind people why they are begging, saying «…It is for me and for you, and to give to the deceased who are dead and buried»^[79] or «It is to share with your deceased»^[80] In the Azores the bread given to the children takes the shape of the top of a skull.^[81] The tradition of pão-por-Deus was already recorded in the 15th century.^[82]

Scandinavia[edit]

In Sweden, children dress up as witches and monsters when they go trick-or-treating on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter) while Danish children dress up in various attires and go trick-or-treating on Fastelavn (or the next day, Shrove Monday). In Norway, the practice is quite common among children, who come dressed up to people’s doors asking for, mainly, candy. The Easter witch tradition is done on Palm Sunday in Finland (virvonta).

Europe[edit]

In parts of Flanders, some parts of the Netherlands, and most areas of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, children go to houses with home-made beet lanterns or with paper lanterns (which can hold a candle or electronic light), singing songs about St. Martin on St. Martin’s Day (the 11th of November), in return for treats.^[83] The equivalent of «trick-or-treat» in German language is «Süßes oder Saures», asking for sweeties or threatening something less pleasant.

In Northern Germany and Southern Denmark, children dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating on New Year’s Eve in a tradition called «Rummelpott ^[de]«.^[84]

Trick-or-treat for charity[edit]

UNICEF started a program in 1950 called Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF in which trick-or-treaters ask people to give money for the organization, usually instead of collecting candy. Participating trick-or-treaters say when they knock at doors «Trick-or-treat for UNICEF!»^[85] This program started as an alternative to candy. The organization has long produced disposable collection boxes that state on the back what the money can be used for in developing countries.

In Canada, students from the local high schools, colleges, and universities dress up to collect food donations for the local Food Banks as a form of trick-or-treating. This is sometimes called «Trick-or-Eat».^[86]

See also[edit]

• Sweetest Day
• Poisoned candy myths
• Samhain
• Hop-tu-Naa
• Koledovanie
• Virvonta
• Ben Cooper, Inc.

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Borrelli, Christopher. «The rise and fall of trick-or-treating — North Shore». Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
• Kawash, Samira (9 October 2009). «The First Candy Day, 14 October 1916». Candy Professor. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  • Sweetest Day
  • “Nation Wide Candy Day,” Candy and Ice Cream July 1916, p. 34
  • “Candy Day,” International Confectioner June 1916, p. 39
  • International Confectioner Nov. 1916, p. 41
• Kelley, Ruth Edna (1919). The Book of Hallowe’en. Boston: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard. ISBN 9781470161958. OCLC 1041627791. Public Domain free download
• Morton, Lisa (2011). The Halloween Encyclopedia (2 ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. ISBN 9781784022006. OCLC 864825770.
• Morton, Lisa (2012). Trick Or Treat: A History of Halloween. London, UK: Reaktion Books, Limited. ISBN 978-1-78914-158-0. OCLC 1089869589.
• Rogers, Nicholas (2002). Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-516896-9. OCLC 1017560275.
• Skal, David J. (2005). Death Makes a Holiday : a Cultural History of Halloween. Living Sacrifice Book Co. ISBN 0756789001. OCLC 877171040.
• Snodgrass, M. Benjamin (2010). «The Specter of Sex Offenders on Halloween: Unmasking Cultural, Constitutional, and Criminological Concerns» (PDF). Ohio State Law Journal. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. 71 (2): 417–456. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
• Truwe, Ben. The Halloween Catalog Collection. Portland, Oregon: Talky Tina Press, 2003. ISBN 0-9703448-5-6
• Winick, Stephen. «Research Guides: Halloween & Día de Muertos Resources: Introduction». guides.loc.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved 5 May 2021.

External links[edit]

• «Ancient Halloween Traditions». Campbell House Museum. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
• «LOC Halloween: Chambers of Mystery Bibliography» (PDF). loc.gov. loc. Retrieved 5 May 2021. The Library of Congress’ autumn 2017 pop-up exhibit tells the intriguing tale of Halloween and Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) through a dazzling range of treasures from across the collections. LOC Halloween: Chambers of Mystery covers the ancient and mysterious traditions behind these autumn holidays through a rich selection of books and archival special collections. Experience the spooky and solemn celebrations through sound and video recordings, prints and photographs, film scores and sheet music, chapbooks, and movie memorabilia.
• “Trick or Treat” («Trick or Treat for UNICEF»). Web page from etymologist Barry Popik on the history of «trick or treat».

The term trick or treat is closely associated with the holiday of Halloween, which has a name worthy of an article of its own. Go there if you want, but this article here is where the sweet stuff is.

The Origins of Halloween and Trick-or-Treating

The true origins of the whole «dressing up in a costume and going around to various houses to greet anyone who answers your knock with a friendly threat» thing is unknown. But according to Encyclopedia Britannica (hi, mom) the traditions of Halloween have their origins in Samhain, a festival celebrated by the Celts of ancient Britain and Ireland. Samhain marked the end of summer and the onset of winter, and occurred on a date that corresponds to our November 1st. It was believed that during the Samhain festival, the world of the gods was visible to humans, and the gods took advantage of this fact by playing tricks on their mortal worshippers. Those worshippers in turn responded with bonfires on hilltops and sometimes masks and other varied disguises to keep ghosts from being able to recognize them. Things tended to get spooky and dangerous around Samhain, with bloody sacrifices and supernatural phenomena abounding. Not quite the neighborhood haunted house, but maybe there’s the faintest of echoes there.

Samhain chugged along for centuries, until Christianity poked its nose in: in the 8th century CE, All Saints’ Day, a somewhat new Christian holiday, got moved from May 13th to November 1st. And the evening before All Saints’ Day became a holy—that is, a hallowed—eve. Within a few centuries—my, how time flies—Samhain and the eve of All Saints’ Day had been merged into a single holiday.

Protestants of the Reformation and all that came after largely rejected the whole thing, but the holiday persisted among some communities. 19th-century immigrants to the U.S., including many from Ireland, brought their Halloween customs with them and deserve no small amount of credit for the holiday as it’s celebrated in the U.S. today.

Earliest Uses of ‘Trick or Treat’

Still, the trick-or-treating took some time to settle in. The authority on how that term first settled into the lexicon is Barry Popik, an independent etymologist who’s also uncovered the mysteries behind such culturally important terms as hot dog and Big Apple. It is he who has found the earliest known examples of trick or treat in use.

Popik’s research traces early iterations of the term to the northwestern part of North America, specifically the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan:

Hallowe’en passed off very quietly here. ‘Treats’ not ‘tricks’ were the order of the evening.
— The Leader-Post (Regina, Saskatchewan), 2 Nov. 1923

Hallowe’en night was observed in the usual manner by the young «bloods» in Penhold. «Fun is fun, and tricks are tricks,» but when such public buildings as school and Memorial Hall are molested with no option for «Treat or Trick,» we can not see where either fun or trick is enjoyed by the participants.
— Red Deer (Alberta) Advocate, 7 Nov. 1924

A few years later, the phrase is used in a more familiar way:

Hallowe’en came and went and was observed most circumspectly in town, without the usual depredations. The greatest activity was manifested by the very young, who wandered in droves from door to door, heavily disguised and demanding “trick or treat.” To treat was to be untricked, and the youthful hold-up men soon returned home bowed down with treats.
— T. D. Colcord, Calgary (Alberta) Daily Herald, 3 Nov. 1927

Hallowe’en provided an opportunity for real strenuous fun. No real damage was done except to the temper of some who had to hunt for wagon wheels, gates, wagons, barrels, etc., much of which decorated the front street. The youthful tormentors were at back door and front demanding edible plunder by the word “trick or treat” to which the inmates gladly responded and sent the robbers away rejoicing.
— Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, 4 Nov. 1927

The first U.S. example Popik reports is from Michigan, and in the plural:

“Trick or Treats?” (headline) … the peaceful citizens lived in terror of the time each evening when they should be summoned to their front doors to hear the fatal ultimatum “Tricks or treats!” uttered in a merciless tone by some small child who clutched in one grubby fist a small chunk of soap capable of eliminating the transparency from any number of windows.
— Bay City (Michigan) Times, 1 Nov. 1928

The earliest example in Merriam-Webster’s files is from 12 years after the Michigan example:

The local equivalent here (Decatur, Illinois) is «Trick or treat.» The custom is the same: children masked and in costume knock at front doors and greet the host with «Trick or treat!» (in a somewhat disguised voice). The proposal is, obviously, a mild kind of blackmail in which—whatever the motives—the treats are always forthcoming.
— John Valentine, letter in American Notes and Queries, March 1942

The writer above was responding to an article entitled «Halloween: Shell Out,» shell out being another phrase employed in the same context.

Later Use

Trick or treat as a set phrase had yet to fully gel as late as 1965, when in a Peanuts cartoon Charles Schulz has Lucy engaged in the activity with the words «TRICKS OR TREATS…» in the speech bubble hovering above her.

And in 1972 a Merriam-Webster editor wrote a note objecting to the defining of trick or treat as «the Halloween practice» rather than «a Halloween practice» because «the beginning word ‘the’ makes it sound like a universal practice. But I never heard of it when I was a child in southern Illinois. Say ‘a’ instead?» The definition was so revised.

• 1
  trick or treat
  
  

  trick or treat noun детская игра ‘кошелёк или жизнь’

  Англо-русский словарь Мюллера > trick or treat

• 2
  trick-or-treat
  
  

  Англо-русский современный словарь > trick-or-treat

• 3
  trick or treat
  
  

  Большой англо-русский и русско-английский словарь > trick or treat

• 4
  trick or treat
  
  

  [͵trıkəʹtri:t]

  детская игра «кошелёк или жизнь» ()

  НБАРС > trick or treat

• 5
  trick or treat
  
  

  Универсальный англо-русский словарь > trick or treat

• 6
  Trick or Treat
  
  

  Универсальный англо-русский словарь > Trick or Treat

• 7
  trick or treat
  
  

  Универсальный англо-русский словарь > trick or treat

• 8
  trick or treat
  
  

  [trɪkə`triːt]

  детская игра «кошелёк или жизнь»

  Англо-русский большой универсальный переводческий словарь > trick or treat

• 9
  trick or treat
  
  

  «Откупись, а то заколдую!»

  English-Russian dictionary of regional studies > trick or treat

• 10
  trick or treat
  
  

  [ˌtrɪkɔː’triːt]
  1.

  сущ.

  обычай, согласно которому на праздник Хэллоуин дети стучатся в двери и требуют угощения

  2.

  межд.

  «Откупись, а то заколдую!»

  Англо-русский современный словарь > trick or treat

• 11
  trick or treat?
  
  

  «Шутка или угощение?» В канун Дня Всех Святых, 31 октября, на праздник Хэллоуин, дети, обычно одетые в странные, диковинные костюмы, стучатся в двери совсем незнакомых людей, предлагая хозяину сделать выбор между угощением для них (сладости, печенье, деньги) и не очень приятной шуткой над хозяевами, такой, например, как, послание на двери хозяина, написанное пеной для бритья или каким-нибудь другим распылителем. В 1997 г. некоторые граждане, которым подобные шутки были не по душе, поставили знаки на дверях, ясно указывающие на то, что группы «Шутка или угощение» вряд ли получат радушный приём.

  English-Russian dictionary of expressions > trick or treat?

• 12
  trick or treat
  
  

  «откупи́сь, а то заколду́ю!»

  The Americanisms. English-Russian dictionary. > trick or treat

• 13
  trick or treat
  
  

  детская игра «кошелёк или жизнь»

  English-Russian base dictionary > trick or treat

• 14
  trick
  
  

  1. n хитрость, обман

  2. n шутка, шалость; выходка

  3. n глупый поступок, глупость

  4. n фокус, трюк

  5. n эффект

  6. n умение, сноровка; ловкость

  7. n способ, приём

  8. n ловкие приёмы; уловки

  9. n характерная особенность

  10. n привычка, манера

  11. n вычурные, напыщенные обороты; выкрутасы

  12. n амер. мелочи; безделушки, игрушки

  13. n амер. разг. вещички, барахло, манатки; шмотки

  14. n амер. амер. разг. ребёнок, девочка

  15. n амер. карт. взятка

  16. n сл. ремесло проститутки

  17. n сл. клиент проститутки

  18. a выполняемый с использованием трюков

  19. a обученный трюкам

  a trick dog — собака, умеющая выполнять трюки; дрессированная собака

  20. a используемый для показа фокусов или выполнения трюков

  21. a слабый

  22. v обманывать, надувать

  23. v подводить; нарушать

  24. v приводить в порядок; украшать, наряжать

  Синонимический ряд:

  1. tricky (adj.) tricky; undependable; unreliable

  3. artifice (noun) artifice; cheating; chouse; deceit; feint; fraud; gambit; gimmick; imposture; jig; play; ploy; ruse; sleight; stratagem; trickery; whizzer; wile

  4. go (noun) bout; go; hitch; innings; shift; spell; stint; time; tour; turn; watch

  5. habit (noun) consuetude; custom; habit; habitude; manner; practice; praxis; usage; use; way; wont

  7. legerdemain (noun) jugglery; legerdemain; prestidigitation; sleight-of-hand

  8. prank (noun) caper; confidence game; deception; device; didoes; dodge; frolic; gag; hoax; joke; lark; maneuver; manoeuvre; practical joke; prank; shenanigan; subterfuge; swindle; tomfoolery; wheeze

  10. dupe (verb) bamboozle; befool; catch; chicane; con; dupe; dust; flimflam; gull; hoax; hoodwink; hornswoggle; job; kid; pigeon; spoof; victimize

  11. have (verb) beguile; betray; bluff; cheat; cozen; deceive; defraud; delude; fool; have; humbug; mislead; outwit; swindle; take in

  Антонимический ряд:

  blunder; botch; bungling; exposure; mishap

  English-Russian base dictionary > trick

• 15
  trick
  
  

  The Americanisms. English-Russian dictionary. > trick

• 16
  trick-or-treater
  
  

  Англо-русский современный словарь > trick-or-treater

• 17
  ‘Treat or Trick’
  
  

  «Угощай, или мы тебя проучим», традиционный возглас подростков, собирающих по домам подарки в канун Дня Всех Святых (31 октября)

  США. Лингвострановедческий англо-русский словарь > ‘Treat or Trick’

• 18
  TOTS
  
  

  Универсальный англо-русский словарь > TOTS

• 19
  Halloween
  
  

  English-Russian dictionary of regional studies > Halloween

• 20
  play
  
  

  1. n игра; забава

  2. n спорт. манера, стиль игры, игра

  fair play — игра по правилам, честная игра

  foul play — игра с нарушением правил, грубая игра

  3. n спорт. комбинация

  tip-off play — комбинация, начинающаяся начальным броском

  4. n спорт. борьба; бой

  5. n азартная игра

  6. n шутка

  7. n каламбур

  8. n пьеса, драма

  play doctor — редактор, «спасающий» пьесу перед премьерой

  9. n представление, спектакль

  10. n владение, умение обращаться

  11. n движение

  12. n переливы, игра

  to play high — играть по большой; ходить с крупной карты

  play street — улица, на которой разрешено играть детям

  13. n свобода, простор

  14. n действие, деятельность

  15. n действия, поведение; игра

  16. n диал. забастовка

  17. n диал. каникулы, свободное от занятий время

  18. n диал. ухаживание; свадебный танец

  19. n диал. проигрывание

  20. n диал. «пресса», освещение в прессе

  21. n тех. зазор

  22. n тех. игра, люфт, свободный ход; шатание

  23. n тех. авт. болтанка

  gallery play — стремление к дешёвой популярности; «работа на публику»

  24. v играть, резвиться, забавляться

  25. v сыграть шутку; разыграть

  26. v шутить; дурачиться

  27. v каламбурить, обыгрывать значение слова

  28. v поступать, вести себя легкомысленно

  play out — изживать себя, терять силу; исчерпать

  29. v флиртовать; ухаживать, заводить любовную интрижку

  30. v австрал. разг. разыгрывать

  31. v играть, участвовать в игре

  32. v спорт. отбивать, подавать мяч

  33. v использовать в игре, выставлять, заявлять

  34. v вводить в игру

  play debt — долг из игры, обязательство из игры

  35. v притворяться, прикидываться

  36. v поступать, действовать

  37. v стравливать, натравливать

  38. v рассматривать

  39. v подходить для игры

  40. v играть в азартные игры; быть игроком

  41. v играть на тотализаторе или на скачках

  42. v делать ставки, ставить

  43. v исполнять; играть

  44. v исполнять, играть роль

  45. v сниматься; участвовать, играть

  46. v сопровождать музыкой

  47. v давать представление; исполнять пьесу

  48. v амер. гастролировать

  49. v, исполняться

  50. v демонстрировать

  51. v идти

  52. v играть, работать

  53. v играть, воспользоваться

  54. v порхать, носиться, танцевать

  55. v переливаться, играть; мелькать

  56. v дрожать, трепетать

  57. v бить

  58. v направлять

  59. v стрелять

  60. v приводить в действие, пускать

  61. v тех. иметь люфт; шататься

  62. v диал. бастовать

  63. v диал. быть на каникулах

  to keep the goal, to play goal — стоять в воротах, быть вратарём

  64. v диал. водить, вываживать

  65. v амер. сл. опекать, покровительствовать

  66. v амер. сл. сотрудничать

  помещать, располагать на определённом месте

  to play silly buggers, to play the goat — дурачиться, идиотничать

  to play it by ear — принимать решение на месте; действовать в зависимости от обстоятельств

  Синонимический ряд:

  1. action (noun) action; activity; exercise; motion; movement

  3. fun (noun) amusement; disport; diversion; enjoyment; entertainment; frolic; fun; game; jest; joke; pastime; recreation; relaxation; sport; trifling

  5. performance (noun) comedy; drama; farce; melodrama; performance; piece; presentation; production; satire; show; tragedy

  6. room (noun) elbowroom; latitude; leeway; margin; room; scope

  7. trick (noun) artifice; chouse; device; feint; gambit; gimmick; jig; maneuver; manoeuvre; ploy; ruse; shenanigan; sleight; stratagem; trick; whizzer; wile

  8. use (noun) appliance; application; employment; exertion; operation; usage; usance; use

  9. act (verb) act; characterise; characterize; discourse; emulate; enact; imitate; impersonate; mimic; personate; playact

  10. compete (verb) compete; contend against; contend with; engage

  12. do (verb) bring about; do; execute; interpret; perform; render

  13. fool (verb) dally; fiddle; fidget; flirt; fool; monkey; putter; tinker; toy; trifle; twiddle

  14. manipulate (verb) beguile; exploit; finesse; jockey; maneuver; manipulate; manoeuvre

  15. put (verb) bet; gamble; game; lay; lay down; post; put; put on; set; stake; wager

  16. romp (verb) caper; frisk; frolic; gambol; revel; romp

  18. treat (verb) deal with; employ; handle; serve; take; treat; use

  Антонимический ряд:

  study; work

  English-Russian base dictionary > play

Published October 24, 2018

It’s many kids’ favorite part of Halloween. There’s no feeling quite like waiting for a stranger to open their door so you can scream the words “Trick or treat!” But, why do we say it? What does it actually mean?

Where does the phrase trick-or-treat come from?

While some identify precursors to trick-or-treating in ancient Celtic customs, modern trick-or-treating is thought to be a custom borrowed from guising or mumming in England, Scotland, and Ireland. These involve dressing in costume and singing a rhyme, doing a card trick, or telling a story in exchange for a sweet.

Some have traced the earliest print reference of the term trick or treat to 1927 in Canada. It appears that the practice didn’t really take hold in the US until the 1930s, where it wasn’t always well received. The demanding of a treat angered or puzzled some adults.

Supposedly, in a Halloween parade in 1948 in New York, the Madison Square Boys Club carried a banner sporting the message “American Boys Don’t Beg.” But by 1950s, the practice was widely accepted enough to be mentioned in popular media, like in the comic strip Peanuts.

If Halloween is your favorite holiday, we’re sure you already know what the –een in Halloween means … muahaha.

Meanings of “Trick or Treat”

The phrase “trick or treat” refers to the Halloween custom for children in various countries. It is through this exciting ritual, small kids and adults solicit money or surprise gifts from the people.

Origin of “Trick or Treat”

The phrase “trick or treat” is said to have originated from Calgary Herald, published on 3rd of November, in 1927, where it is stated as; “Hallowe’en came and went… The greatest activity was manifested by the very young, who wandered in droves from door to door, heavily disguised and demanding “trick or treat”. To treat was to be untracked.” Since then, several poets and authors have used this phrase in their writings in its standardized form.

Examples from Literature

Example #1

Trick or Treat by Jim Ellis

Candy candy in the bag
It’s that time of year
Funny clown witchy hag
Another house is near

Popcorn balls and tootsie rolls
A handful is the best
Taken from the biggest bowls
At homes that pass the test

Ding dong ring the bell
Trick or treat is said
And if it does not go so well
Then mark the first word said

The above stanzas are taken from the poem, “trick or treat” narrates the excitement of the speaker who is already wearing a costume for Halloween night. The speaker is soliciting gifts from the house owners. In the second stanza, he discusses the lot he received from the houses he just passed. Filled with excitement, he approaches the next house and rings the bell to trick the house owner. Thus, the use of the phrase in this text is a direct meaning.

Example #2

Trick or Treat by Marilyn Zelke-Windau

Halloween, a time of year, a time of mind,
when serotonin levels swell
at just the thought of candy.
Sugar keeps those little legs pumping,
down streets, up steps, over sidewalk cracks.
Lights on porches draw them in like moths.
Some are reluctant to say the magic words.
Some are brash and grab their own choice
from the bowels of the bowl.
They turn, after three small words,
stumble down to mothers,
fall into waiting strollers
pushed by fathers, who extract their toll
with a snicker, to the next yard.”

The speaker highlights the importance of Halloween night when children happily come out of their houses, anxiously expecting gifts and candies. This thought keeps their legs pumping all the way. While talking about their interactions, the speaker narrates that some children are shy in that they do not utter a word while trick and treating, while some are bold enough to get the prizes of their choices. After taking their gifts they readily turn to their parents and set back home. Therefore, the phrase means the same thing that every year the Halloween night is celebrated with extreme joy.

Example #3

Trick or Treat by Nancy Price

“The ghost is a torn sheet,
the skeleton’s suit came from a rack in a store
the witch is flameproof, but who knows
what dark streets they have taken here?
Brother Death, here is a candy bar.
For the lady wearing the hat from Salem: gum.
And a penny for each eye, Lost Soul.
They fade away with their heavy sacks.
Thanks! I yell just in time.
Thanks for another year!”

The poem details how beautifully people dress up on Halloween night to grab candies and gifts from other people. They wear different costumes, ranging from funny to horror to surprise others with their looks to terrify the people with their ghost-like looks which seem as if they have come from Salem. However, after taking their gifts, they say thanks and fade away with their stuffed sacks. Their thanksgiving expresses the state of joy they feel while receiving exciting prizes. Relating to these meanings to children as they trick for the treats, the text shows the funny side of the phrase.

Example in Sentences

Example #1: “The park near my house is nicely transformed into a hauntingly place with roaming zombies, frightening rides and exciting trick-or-treat verities for the kids.”

Example #2: “Eoin remembered that last year, his school won exciting Halloween prizes as he worked on great projects including trick or treat bags, wall hangings, a festive bowl.”

Example #3: “I love when children costumed to disguise the person who opens doors for trick or treat.”

Example #4: “Trick-or-treat,” Sam said, as he placed the match into one watermelon and threw it to the table, causing the others to explode.”

 Example #5: “Despite the lockdown, the Frater’s family were able to go on trick or treating and collected bucket full of candies from their neighborhood. They wore masks.”