Which is it?
Where did you learn it (Geography & time)?
Any punch/slug-backs?
Do you use the variation where you smack someone once for each letter as you spell out the color?
Seattle, 1980s. No Slug-backs. For me it’s always been: “Slug Bug! R-E-D” involving three good smacks to the arm. If you’re really good you come up with colors like “Crimson” or “Mauvy Shade Of Pinky Russet”
slug bug
slug bug - it has a good rhythm to it (no color mentioned)
Learned it in Michigan and played it with my brother and sister all the time in the late '80’s & early '90s.
We instituted the no-slug back, because we were abusing a loop-hole that we would be punching each other over one car for eternity.
Super cheesy variation below. Don’t open it if you value your lunch.
I was playing with my wife once, and I was a little too quick and hit her pretty hard. She was fine with it, but I felt guilty. We changed the game to “hug bug” and kept tally of all the VW bugs we saw during the day. We could then exchange them for hugs and other, ahem, stuff.
Midwest, 1970’s. Slug-bug.
Midwest, 70s, ‘slug a bug’
SoCal, 70s, slug-bug
Maryland, late '60s through mid '70s. Punch Buggy. We didn’t do the ‘color thing’, though we did do ‘no punch back’! Now, my 9YO daughter has added “PT Cruiser: watch out loser!” to the game!
Okay…
Can someone give more detail to those unfamiliar with it. Is there anything more to this than hitting your brother/sister in the backseat and shouting something?
My kids played it in the eighties and nineties. It was slug bug for them.
Maine in the eighties: Punch-buggy color. Punch packs were not a part of the game, so never had to call that.
Then in high school we added “Padiddle” if there were girls in the car. A car with one headlight out got you a kiss.
Which is it? Slug bug.
Where did you learn it (Geography & time)? Late 80’s, early 90’s, Texas.
Any punch/slug-backs? You had to wipe your punch off or the other person could hit you back.
Do you use the variation where you smack someone once for each letter as you spell out the color? No. One bug, one slug.
That’s basically it. If you were driving* and you saw a Volkswagen Bug you would shout “Slug bug, <car color>!” and then hit your sibling or friend in the arm. Where I’m from you had to wipe the spot you punched off with your hand. If you forgot this important part they could hit you back.
*You didn’t actually have to be in a car, it worked walking around too. You just tend to see more when driving.
Never heard of it. Haven’t the vaguest idea what any of you are talking about. And if I come to your party I sure as hell ain’t drinking your punch.
Slug Bug, no colors or punch backs.
Mid 80’s in Oklahoma.
What was awesome was my grandpa bought old beat up bugs and then fixed them up and resold them so he always had several in the barn or out in the pasture and whenever we would go to visit it would be a slug bug massacre.
Which is it? Slug Bug
**Where did you learn it (Geography & time)? ** New Jersey - 60s
Any punch/slug-backs? If the person was mistaken, they can be hit back.
**Do you use the variation where you smack someone once for each letter as you spell out the color? ** In modern times with my kids, we have several rules that we sort of make up as we go along. You get double punches for old bugs, yellow bugs, convertibles, etc. These can be added on, e.g., if you see an old, yellow convertible, the person is basically getting beat up. Any sort of unusual bugs get extra punches depending on their unusual-ness. We passed a police station that had a bug decked out as a police car (probably for a DARE program), and I informed the kids I get to kill one of them.
I always thought we were the lone weird family who played padiddle (with punching, not kissing). Upon research, we were not alone.
Slug bug.
Central Washington, early 70s. Just your standard slug bug; no spelling punches, no slug backs. My dad taught us.
Punch Buggy, ‘no returns’ were allowed.
80’s, Western Canada.
We also did pididdle for one headlight, but it was a slap dash-slap dash-hit roof thing. Pidaddle was for one tail light, same motion.
Slug bug, mostly. Calling out the color was mandatory, and you could get two more for flinching. You also got punched back if either a) the car wasn’t a VW bug or b) you started yelling it out, because you thought you saw one, but then stopped mid-yell because you really didn’t.
I’m a lady type, and I never hit anyone very hard, more of a tap on the shoulder. The Mr’s sister, though - she really laid it on you. Ouch.
We Pididdled too. We even had another word based on which light was out - the left was Pididdle, the right was some other P-word which I’ve forgotten. When you said “pididdle,” you also hit the roof.
And you always hit the roof while driving over railroad tracks. I took to doing it as many times as I could over the tracks - someone told me that each hit extended your life by some weirdo amount, like 5 minutes or such.
Slug bug, no colors or punch backs, Texas, 80’s.
Slug bug, sometimes with colors but not always, never punchbacks, Georgia, early 90’s.
Also, I think the kids now do it with PT Cruisers, but it’s a “Cruiser Bruiser”.
My kids, now, Twin Cities Minnesota
Slug Bug, no backs!
It isn’t the thing that drives me the most crazy that they do in the back seat.
(Anyone do the piddiddle for kisses thing - one headlight out on dates? - Midwest - 1980s)