A staring contest (or blinking contest) is a game in which two people stare into each other's eyes and attempt to maintain eye contact for a longer period than their opponent. The game ends when one participant blinks or intentionally or unintentionally looks away.
A popular variation of the game exists in which the participants not only attempt to maintain eye contact, but also must resist the urge to blink, creating a physical challenge as well as a psychological one. Most other variations revolve chiefly around either of these two core objectives, with some allowing the aggressive use of distracting actions to force an opponent into defeat, while others prohibit virtually any action but staring.
Another commonly accepted ruleset is the 'ambush' ruleset, where where one participant begins the contest without the opponent initially being aware of it. As soon as eye contact is made, the staring contest has begun, and proceeds according to regular conventions. The entire contest is allowed to pass without the opponent being aware they were involved.
Famous quotes containing the words staring and/or contest:
“Humility is not my forte, and whenever I dwell for any length of time on my own shortcomings, they gradually begin to seem mild, harmless, rather engaging little things, not at all like the staring defects in other people’s characters.”
—Margaret Halsey (b. 1910)
“The contest ends at midnight tonight
But you can submit again, and again.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)