Are Unresponsive Throws Really "Yoyos"?

When out with an acquaintance, I showed off my unresponsive YYJ Classic and did a few some tricks. As I was describing what an unresponsive yoyo was, he said:

“So basically, it’s a yoyo that doesn’t work”

It got me thinking. As the term is generally understood, a “yoyo” is something that goes up and down when you pull on the string. In fact, this is the dictionary definition of a yoyo:

“A toy consisting of a pair of joined discs with a deep groove between them in which string is attached and wound, which can be spun alternately downward and upward by its weight and momentum as the string unwinds and rewinds.”

Here’s another definition from Merriam-Webster:
“A round toy that has two flat sides with a string attached to its center, that is held in your hand, and that is made to go up and down by unwinding and rewinding the string with a movement of your wrist”.

Or dictionary.com

“A spoollike toy consisting of two thick wooden, plastic, or metal disks connected by a dowel pin in the center to which a string is attached, one end being looped around the player’s finger so that the toy can be spun out and reeled in by wrist motion.”

I think it’s pretty clear that unresponsive throws are not really yoyos - at least from the standard usage of the word, don’t you think?

So maybe…just maybe…we shouldn’t be calling unresponsive throws “yoyos” at all, when they don’t carry out the most defining feature of a yoyo. Certainly as the term “yoyo” is commonly understood, if it doesn’t return with a tug is something else - but not a yoyo. I know that we who have been using them think of them as yoyos, but a neutral third party probably wouldn’t.

What do you think? Do you think the term “yoyo” is misleading when dealing with unresponsive play?

I think that an unresponsive yoyo is still classified as a “yoyo”. Although, the dictionary definitions are quite… selective? Let me try a metaphor, would a car with a push-button ignition still be a car? Just because it “starts” (wakes up) by a different method doesn’t mean it’s to be classified as a different item. In my opinion, the most defining feature of a yoyo is that it can go down, and then be pulled back up to your hand. Not how it’s pulled back up.

Sorry if this is a bit unclear, or even argumentative (I swear I didn’t mean it to be!) I’m writing this when I’m rather tired, so yeah… :

That wasn’t argumentative at all! And you’re right - dictionary definitions can be unnecessarily specific.

I guess the final arbiter is the common man. I think “specialists” like us are too close to the subject matter. If we were to ask a neutral regular person whether or not an unresponsive throw is a yoyo, I’m guessing they would answer “no”, or “It doesn’t work”.

From that perspective, I think I’m forced to admit that I shouldn’t use the word “yoyo” for unresponsive - just so that I’m on the same page as everyone else.

An unresponsive yoyo is still a yoyo, no matter how you look at it. At least to me. When I show people the yoyo and show them How it is unresponsive, I tell them that it is a modern yoyo. But its still a yoyo.

So if I throw down a yoyo without a response system in it and thus can’t return it to my hand, does that make it not a yoyo anymore?

Mere speculation…

So if its not a yoyo, and I drop a loop from a GT, do i now suddenly have a yoyo?
what is this magic?

one could retort that you are using your wrist when doing a bind return, there by falling into conformity with these “definitions”.

its def a yoyo to me. just a more capable one than most know exist. Its da’ next level shizzle.

Ok, children… let’s all put on our thinking caps and while we are brainstorming; let’s think of an alternate name for boomerangs that don’t come back.

On a more valid note; a yoyo that does not come back is simply a yoyo that needs a bind to return.

…Dead people are not gonna come back. But they are still people. They are just kinda dead.

Well, personally I don’t think the dead are “people” . It was a person, but not anymore. Interestingly, do you think a boomerang that can’t come back is still a boomerang?

So if we put a yoyo in a closed box with a timed capsule (we don’t know how much time is on it) that will make the yoyo cease to exist, then we could say it is simultaneously a yoyo and not a yoyo, invalidating all of the definitions here.

If a boomerang is properly made, there is no 'wont come back. It may not come back. But could be either weather conditions or simply the inability of the thrower to properly execute a correct throw.

Any resulting failure on the part of the thrower has zero to do with the name of the item.

It remains a boomerang whether it comes back or not.

When I was younger and was messing with fireballs that became unresponsive (at the time unresponsive meant it was time to lube it up), I jokingly would call it a “yo” since it only worked half-way.

In my opinion, I’d still classify these as yoyos. They’re still spools that unwind and return with its momentum it is carrying ready to be thrown again, It’s just a different technique where rather than tugging the string (that causes a bind), you’re manually causing the bind to happen by forcing the string into the gap yourself.

“A spoollike toy consisting of two thick wooden, plastic, or metal disks connected by a dowel pin in the center to which a string is attached, one end being looped around the player’s finger so that the toy can be spun out and reeled in by wrist motion."”

Do not overthink something basic. In a bind you do still move your wrist in a motion. The same applies for a finger spin return, single-hand bind, etc. For instance look at the sky bind, unless you have very tight response pads you still have to move your wrist in order to get he yoyo to return.

However you did get me thinking… Is 4A (off-string) really considered yo-yoing? It seems to be in its own class of throwing. Without doubt it is the odd one in the group. Lets look back to what you said:
"A spoollike toy consisting of two thick wooden, plastic, or metal disks connected by a dowel pin in the center to which a string is attached, one end being looped around the player’s finger so that the toy can be spun out and reeled in by wrist motion.

Lets let that simmer… :o
I want to hear your opinions my fellow throwers!

Schrodingers Yoyo…

I think the issue lies with the definition here, rather than the defined. The modern yoyo evolved relatively recently and Webster hasn’t yet noticed that it’s gone AWOL.

As something evolves, it becomes harder to pin a definition on it. “Human” was mentioned and it’s a perfect example; almost any definition of human is forced to contain the word “human,” because any conceivable attempt at a more specific definition is going to prompt a thousand exceptions.

Interesting topic though. Maybe modern yoyos needs a new, more specific word, like “automobile” versus the broader “car.” You’d probably look like a snob to people if you tried calling your yoyo a “gyrowhatsit” or whatever in public though.

And what if the shape of a boomerang is such that it doesn’t come back? (Like an unresponsive yoyo)? Should we still call it a boomerang then?

It comes back eventually…

#trivial

I remember when I didn’t want to switch from responsive to unresponsive play (like a baby that won’t give up the bottle for a sippy cup), I spent a few weeks there convincing myself unresponsive yoyos weren’t real yoyos anyway.

At worst, you could call an unresponsive yoyo a yo … yo. They’re yoyos.

A definition of automobile is "a self-propelled passenger vehicle that usually has four wheels and an internal-combustion engine, used for land transport.

I drive a stick shift car. It is not “self propelled”. An automatic transmission might idle and move the car slowly on its own, but my car will not. I have to interact with the car for it to move and satisfy the “land transport” portion of the definition. That’s why they call it a manual car. But it’s still a car.

An unresponsive yoyo is like a manual yoyo. But it’s still a yoyo. Standard definitions need to be updated. Notice the mention of an internal-combustion engine above. Elon Musk might have something to say about that. Tell your friend it’s the 21st century, man!

since virtually any yo-yo can be set up to be either responsive or unresponsive, i feel like the issue is kind of moot. and i’ve never been observed by someone (except maybe very young children) who didn’t understand that what i was playing with was a “yo-yo”, regardless of how it responded.

maybe doc pop’s “retro-winding double-knobbed toy” is a more appropriate term for use in more literal company.