chicken-fighters
plural noun
variants or less commonly chicken-fights
: the flowers of several violets (as Viola cucullata) one petal of which is spurred
Word History
Etymology
so called from a children's game in which each of two participants tries to decapitate the other's flower by pulling on the stem of his or her own, one spurred petal (likened to a cock's spur) of which is interlocked with that of the adversary's flower