cooties
Imaginary kid contamination
Cooties are imaginary germs or parasites that children claim someone has—usually to justify avoiding them: Don't touch him, he has cooties!
The concept functions as playground currency for social exclusion, with elaborate rituals like "cootie shots" to protect against contamination.
Originally, cooties was World War I slang for body lice.
Identifier or classifier
- chaseRapid following of quarry
- avoidanceDeliberate keeping away
- touchPerceiving through physical contact
- runawayOne who flees
giggle · squeal · vaccine · shield · infected · game · recess · yuck
Traditional explanatory tale
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
- make-believeImaginative play or fantasy
- imaginaryExisting only in thought
- pretendAct as though
fiction · invention · phantom · invisible · nonsense · silly · fantasy
Scornful ridicule or travesty
- tauntingInsulting to provoke
- ridiculeContemptuous mocking treatment
- exclusionBeing barred from participation
- ostracismBanishment from a group
shame · gross-out · repulsion · avoidance · rejection · humiliation · childish · immature
Pest takeover situation
- nitsLice before hatching
- itchingIrritating skin sensation
- scratchingRaking with nails
- treatmentCare for an ailment
shampoo · comb · outbreak · contagious · parasites · schoolyard · nurse · nitpicking
tag
Identifier or classifier
- chaseRapid following of quarry
- avoidanceDeliberate keeping away
- touchPerceiving through physical contact
runaway · giggle · squeal · vaccine · shield · infected · game · recess · yuck · ew
myth
Traditional explanatory tale
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
- make-believeImaginative play or fantasy
- imaginaryExisting only in thought
pretend · fiction · invention · phantom · invisible · nonsense · silly · fantasy
mockery
Scornful ridicule or travesty
- tauntingInsulting to provoke
- ridiculeContemptuous mocking treatment
- exclusionBeing barred from participation
ostracism · shame · gross-out · repulsion · avoidance · rejection · humiliation · childish · immature · disgust
infestation
Pest takeover situation
- nitsLice before hatching
- itchingIrritating skin sensation
- scratchingRaking with nails
treatment · shampoo · comb · outbreak · contagious · parasites · schoolyard · nurse · nitpicking · delousing
cootiescoolness
Calm self-possession
popularity · social acceptance · charm · charisma · appeal
cootiescleanliness
Absence of dirt
purity · sterility · hygiene · immaculateness · spotlessness
- cootie catcherFolded paper divination toy