gee haw whimmy diddle

Alternative forms

• gee-haw whimmy diddle
• gee haw whammy diddle
• gee-haw whammy diddle

Noun

gee haw whimmy diddle (plural gee haw whimmy diddles)

1. A wooden toy consisting of a notched stick with a smaller stick attached on the end. Rubbing the notched stick with another stick causes the smaller stick to spin; with practice the spin can be made to change from rightward (gee) to leftward (haw) and vice versa.
   • 1974 November, Texas Monthly, article The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, page 93:

     …some of the Blue Ridge Mountain folk toys. Each of the following runs about $2: spinning wooden top, fox and geese game, gee-haw whimmy diddle, bull roarer, corn cob pipe.

   • 2002, Jeremy Gray, Jeff Davis, China Williams, Lonely Planet Georgia and the Carolinas

     Here you can pick up mountain toys such as the ‘gee-haw whimmy diddle,' a stick with a propeller that turns when you rub the notches on the stick.

   • 2003, Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince, Frommer's The Carolinas and Georgia

     Special events at the FolkArt Center...include Fiber Day in May, the World Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Competition in August...

   • 2005, Martin Gardner, Smart Science Tricks‎:

     Thousands of wooden versions are sold each year, and a Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Competition is held every summer at Asheville's Folk Art Center.

Further reading

• Description of a "gee-haw whimmy diddle"