The Dying Art of the Tic Tak men

Tic-tac is the manual semaphore language used by the Tic-tac men at horse racing events in UK. Primarily used by bookmakers it’s the language used to communicate the odds at races.
When you first see it, it looks like they are making strange gestures and it’s very confusing as to what they mean. The primary use of the language was to communicate with other bookmakers about the odds for each horse at a race.
These days unfortunately Tic-Tac is a dying art, and is rarely used by betting shops or bookies due to the advent of technology – mobile phones, walkie talkies and handheld computers have made an impact on its necessity.


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