bowling for a pig
{{Short description|British carnival game}}
File:Longdon Village Fete - geograph.org.uk - 460535.jpg]]
Bowling for a pig was a traditional British competition, usually held at country fêtes, fairs, and carnivals. It was a form of bowling as a test of skill, with the highest scorer(s) winning the prize. The traditional prize was a live pig to take home.{{cite book|title=Bringing home the bacon and cutting the mustard|page=31|publisher=Past Times|year=2000|url=https://archive.org/details/bringhomebaconcu0000vari/page/30/mode/2up?q=%22bowling+for+a+pig%22}} The game traditionally used nine wooden pins at the end of an alley, and a solid wooden ball.{{cite book|last=Room|first=Adrian|title=Dictionary of confusing words and meanings|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofconf0000room/page/36/mode/2up?q=%22bowling+for+a+pig%22|page=37|year=1988|isbn=9780880292658}} It was common through the 19th{{cite news|title=Brierley Hill|work=Worcestershire Chronicle|date=25 September 1850|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000350/18500925/022/0005}} and 20th centuries. Some fêtes retain the name for their bowling sideshow, but no longer offer a live pig as a prize.
Prize
The traditional prize was a piglet for the winner to take home and raise.{{cite book|last=Titchmarsh|first=Alan|title=The complete countryman: rediscovering lost crafts and traditional skill|year=2011|isbn=9781846073939|publisher=BBC, London|url=https://archive.org/details/completecountrym0000titc/page/24/mode/2up?q=%22bowling+for+a+pig%22}}{{cite book|last=Fry|first=Stephen|year=2004|title=Moab is my washpot|url=https://archive.org/details/moabismywashpot0000frys_u0u3/page/40/mode/2up?q=%22bowling+for+a+pig%22|page=41|isbn=9780099457046 }} The pig was seen as a very valuable prize, given the importance of fresh meat in contemporary diets,{{cite book|title=John Buchan: a memoir|year=1982|url=https://archive.org/details/johnbuchanmemoir0000buch/page/34/mode/2up?q=%22bowling+for+a+pig%22|last=Buchan|first=William|isbn=978-0-88760-108-8|location=Toronto|publisher=Griffin House}} and pork being the only meat that most families would ever eat.{{cite book|title=The real McCoy: understanding peculiar English|last=Chadlington|first=Peter|url=https://archive.org/details/realmccoyunderst0000chad/page/52/mode/2up?q=%22bowling+for+a+pig%22|page=53|year=2005|isbn=9781840466843}}
The practice of winning a live pig led to the phrase "bringing home the bacon", relating to winning bacon, and latterly to gaining things of value.
Some fairs used other animals, such as bowling for a lamb.{{cite book|year=2007|title=The history of Widecombe Fair|isbn=9781898964797|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofwidecom0000unse/page/62/mode/2up?q=%22bowling+for+a+pig%22|publisher=Widecombe and District Local History Group}} As fewer people kept livestock, some fairs started to offer joints of pork as the prize instead of a live animal,{{cite news|title=Old game of bowling for a pig brought back for 100th show|url=https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/10612018.old-game-of-bowling-for-a-pig-brought-back-for-100th-show/|work=Salisbury Journal|date=16 August 2013}} and some fairs continue the name today but have substituted other prizes.{{cite web|publisher=Beaulieu Village fete|url=https://beaulieufete.org.uk/?view=article&id=7:its-on&catid=11|title=It's On!}}{{cite news|work=Newbury Today|date=11 May 2023|url=https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/village-summer-fete-to-return-in-june-9312044/|title=Theale Summer Fete to return in June}}