battledore

/bat-l-dawr, -dohr/US // ˈbæt lˌdɔr, -ˌdoʊr //UK // (ˈbætəlˌdɔː) //

斗牛士,斗鸡场,斗士,斗牛场

Definitions

n.名词 noun

1
- : Also called battledore and shuttlecock. a game from which badminton was developed, played since ancient times in India and other Asian countries.
- : a light racket for striking the shuttlecock in this game.
- : a 17th- and 18th-century hornbook of wood or cardboard, used as a child's primer.

1
bat·tle·dored, bat·tle·dor·ing.
- : to toss or fly back and forth: to battledore the plan among one's colleagues.

The difference is that instead of racquet and ball, battledore and shuttlecock are used.
In brief, the author is trying to get the truth and not merely playing baby-battledore among phrases.
He made his characters play a game of verbal battledore and shuttlecock.
In both towns and villages the streets are the playground, and here they play ball, or battledore and shuttlecock, or fly kites.
The girls play battledore and shuttlecock and bounce balls, and the boys spin tops and make them fight.