Meaning
The tile game that is a national pastime in Jamaica — played fast and loud, with the winning tile 'slammed' triumphantly onto the table with a crack. A fixture of the rum bar, the verandah, and the street corner, dominoes is usually played in pairs and taken very seriously indeed, a fierce, skilful, boisterous battle of wits and bluff. The rattle of shuffled tiles, the bang of a slammed 'bone', and the crow of the winner are among the defining sounds of Jamaican social life, wherever men gather to pass the time.
Examples
-
Di man dem a play domino a di bar all evening.
The men are playing dominoes at the bar all evening.
-
Him slam di six-love pon di table.
He slammed down the winning tile (a six-love) on the table.
-
A six-love mean yuh beat dem bad inna domino.
A 'six-love' means you beat them soundly in dominoes.
Origin
The worldwide tile game, embraced in Jamaica as a national social pastime with its own loud, competitive style.
How it’s used
A beloved social game; a total shutout is a 'six-love'. Usually said 'domino' in the singular.