Definition of Chinese whispers

For the party game see Chinese whispers

Chinese Whispers is a 1987 novella by Maurice Leitch published as a Hutchinson Novella in Australia and the United Kingdom and as part of the Harper Short Novel Series in the United States.

Chinese whispers or Telephone is a game in which each successive participant secretly whispers to the next a phrase or sentence whispered to them by the preceding participant. Cumulative errors from mishearing often result in the sentence heard by the last player differing greatly and amusingly from the one uttered by the first. It is most often played by children as a party game or in the playground. It is often invoked as a metaphor for cumulative error, especially the inaccuracies of rumours.