The table game "Subbuteo" is named after what or whom?

Most famous as a table-top soccer game, although versions are available with other sports including cricket and both rugby codes, Subbuteo takes its name from "Falco Subbuteo", a Latin alternative name for the bird of prey otherwise known as the Eurasian Hobby.

Its inventor, the Englishman Peter Adolph (1916-1994) originally wanted to call the game simply "Hobby", but was not granted a trademark on it, so it is a clever play on words.

Like many ex-service personnel after the end of the Second World War, Adolph was looking for a business opportunity. He adapted it from an earlier game known as "Newfooty", making the figures lighter and more easy to handle. But in this period of postwar austerity, there was a great deal of improvisation, with the players (only available in red and blue strips) originally made of cardboard, and the bases from buttons. The now familiar three dimensional painted figures were not introduced until the 1960s.

Despite the advent of realistic computer games, Subbuteo still has a following, and has remained part of popular culture. Amongst other things, the 1997 British film "Fever Pitch", based on the Nick Hornby novel, features it.