I grew up in Poland, Ohio - just south of Youngstown. When I was a kid, we used the ritual "Fling Flang Flu" (or possibly "Fling Flang Floo") to determine who goes first for various games.
The ritual is between two kids: one kid chooses evens or odds, each holds a hand behind their back, they chant: "fling, flang, flu" and on "flu" they each "fling" their hands out with zero to four fingers (no thumbs). The total, even or odd, determines the winner. I seem to recall that it would be the best out of three flings.
I now live in the Akron (Ohio) area, about 50 miles west of where I grew up. The weird thing is that people my age that grew up in the Akron area don't know this ritual.
If you used "Fling Flang Flu" as a kid, can you please leave a comment regarding where and when you learned it?
Thanks!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
25 comments:
I just told my husband about my Italian uncles playing Morra. It's Italian Fling Flang Floo. I grew up on the Southside of Youngstown. He's from Brooklyn and didn't know the game.
The Greater Youngstown Italian Fest JUST posted about Morra, and I reposted it saying I grew up knowing it as Fling Flang Flu. We used it in my neighborhood in Boardman in the 60s and 70s to pick baseball sides, etc.
So I google Fling Flang Flu (sp?) and your post comes up. LOL.
Here's the link that the Fest put to Morra.
http://everybodylovesitalian.com/morra-ancient-italian-game-must-see/
I moved to Warren Ohio from Brooklyn NY in 1975 at the age of 9. I recall Fling Flang Floo and throwing out fingers, but not really knowing why, because whatever we were doing I seemed to always be the loser. I learned of it in Ohio, not NY.
I am from Youngstown and we used this game a lot! Born in 1968.
Grew up in Campbell and we used 'fling,flang, flu (floo) always to pick sides for anything. even or odd; best out of three.
I am from Warren too. We did this in the 60's. It was fling flang floo and then shoot as you showed your fingers.
Yes, I remember the game well. We used to use it to pick sides for the games we played. Great times back then, great times.
We used that in Niles, OHio. When I moved to Cleveland no one I met there had ever heard of it. They use Rock-Paper-Scissors which I had never heard of.
Husband is from Hubbard Ohio he always says fling flang flu.. I'm from the south I had never heard of it
One more thing. We would say fling flang floo with our hands behind our back. It was when we said shoot that we would show our hand and counted our fingers. I too recall the winner being the person who won 2 out of 3.
Grew up in Hubbard Ohio, playing
Fling Flang Flu. Just looked it up 40 years later and the only people commenting are those from connecting cities. Love it!
Just came across this blog while searching for the same. I grew up in Youngstown and we always used FFF to determine just about everything. Seems like it might have some link to Morra. My family is Italian, and so were most of the kids with whom we played. On another note, we also played Rock, Paper, Scissors, but we always said Paper, Scissors, Rock, in that order. When I moved, everyone said it differently. Didn't know if it was just me. Sound-wise, it's more rhythmic and powerful (IMO) to end on the 1-syllable word Rock and reveal your choice.
Oddly enough I am posting this one day after someone else from Youngstown posted. I grew up in Boardman just outside of Ytown and we played it all the time. I wanted to make sure I had remembered the rules so I googled it. Trying to pass time with my kids in the class car and Paper, Scissors, Rock gets old. I am also Italian and think that since this area is heavy in that, it more than likely came from Morra!! I also get annoyed when people don't say paper, scissors, rock. We basically scream ROCK!!
I came across your "Blog" and the subsequent comments when I tried to find the "correct" (or variations, thereof) spelling of "FLING FLANG FLU." My entire family is from Italy. My father came here in the late 1940's at 18 years. He has always played "MORRA". His team - sponsored by Rulli Bros. Market - just finished in 2nd place for the 2018 season of THE YOUNGSTOWN MORRA LEAGUE, which plays at The Georgetown on South Ave. I was sending a picture of his team to my out-of-town brother by email, and used "Fling Flang Flu" in the subject line.
We grew up on the Southside of Youngstown, Ohio (W.Glenaven Ave., by the Y-Town Playhouse) and used FFF all of the time as both a game and to pick sides/teams. We held our hands behind our backs, recited "Fling Flang Flu", then threw out anything from a closed fist (zero) to all five fingers. A pre-selected choice of even or odd (total fingers) determined the winner. We also played "Paper, Rock, Scissors" and "MumblyPeg (with a small, folding pen knife)." (We played "Chicken" with that knife, as well, but we'll leave the discussion of that for another time!)
Have you ever witnessed a full-blown, competitive, wine-fueled Morra match? Let's just say, "Insanity prevails!"...
JOE LUCCI (St. Pat's/Cardinal Mooney H.S. '75). "Y-Town Proud", though New Middletown, now.
We played "Fling, Flang, Flu" in Niles, Ohio in the late '70s. My children are in school north of Cortland. I just taught them tonight. Interesting it doesn't appear to be known outside of the greater Youngstown/Warren corridor.
Yes! Grew up in Youngstown ohio.
Grew up on the Southside of Youngstown,Ohio---always used it to pick sides on any game with teams.
I also grew up on Youngstowns South Side, and we did this as kids to choose sides for touch football or baseball or to settle differences.....As to Joe Lucci's question about having ever seen a full blown, competitive, wine fueled Morra match.....Being of Italian descent. I've witnessed many of these matches at wedding receptions down at the Steel Workers Union Hall on Steel St., to our Family reunions in Harding Park in Hubbard and The Maronite Center on Meridian Rd.
I was well aware of FFF being a derivative of Morra, but had no idea it was almost exclusively a Youngstown area thing....
I grew up on the south side of Youngstown and we used fling flang floor to determine who would go first with one person choosing odd or even. Your hand was behind your back. Both people would say fling flang floo but at the word floor, both would throw out their hand to show which fingers they were hiding. It was always the best out of 3. I'm not Italian. Maybe it's a game just common to this area.
I also grew up in Poland, Ohio. We used it for all the outside games we played. We would round up all the kids, from 6-16, one of our favorites was a game called release. Does anyone remember playing that?
I grew up near Struthers and we also used this. Back in the 60's and 70's. I was listening to 3 boys at the barber shop playing rock paper scissors and it made me think of it, funny. I now live in western P.A. and no one heard of it.
I was playing a game on face time with my granddaughter…she said, I spy with my little eye something blue….I said no it’s fling flang floo I see something you can’t see and the color is blue….I grew up in Lincoln knolls on the east side of youngstown…I remember my Grampa doing fling flang floo with all his grandchildren..that was in the late 1950s…He came from Italy…how funny when I was searching for fling flang floo…I found this post!!,
I don't know why but I was just sitting here today and for no particular reason, Fling, Flang, Flu popped into my thoughts. I haven't thought about this in decades and don't know why it popped up today. So, I did a search and came across this thread. I lived on the South Side of Youngstown, OH and we used FFF for just about anything from choosing sides for games to dares or just to play FFF for the fun of it. From the Lansingville area. Home of the Great Margie's Pizza. Other notable mentions in the neighborhood, Rocko's Shoe Repair, Hollywood Tavern, City Provision, Green Spot, Jimmy the Barber, Rosies, Kasters, Yeagers, Loblaws right off the top of my head.
We used it when I was growing up in North Carolina.
We used it when I was growing up in North Carolina in the 60's.
Post a Comment