ping pong

Meanings

1. Table tennis.
2. An instance of figuratively bouncing something or someone back and forth.
3. The exchange of proposed amendments between the House of Commons and House of Lords, particularly at the end of a session when compromises have to be made to complete the legislative process within the limited time available.
4. A size of photograph a little larger than a postage stamp.
5. A small, shallow steelpan drum.

1. To figuratively bounce or be bounced back and forth.
2. To refer (a patient) unnecessarily to a number of clinics or practitioners as a form of fraud.
3. To play the game of ping pong.

Etymology

Onomatopoeic. The name “ping-pong” was in wide use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. Jaques sold the rights to the “ping-pong” name in the United States to Parker Brothers. Registered in the United States in 1930, Ping-Pong (with dash) is still a registered wordmark of Parker Brothers, Inc. Contrary to a common misconception, the word does not originate from Chinese 乒乓 (pīngpāng), though there are possibilities that the coiners encountered Chinese themselves.