A wishbone is a forked bone found in the chest of birds, shaped like the letter Y. After cooking a turkey or chicken, two people can make a wish and each grab one side of the dried wishbone, then pull until it snaps. According to tradition, whoever ends up with the larger piece gets their wish.

The bone gets its name from this wishing tradition, which goes back hundreds of years. Ancient Romans believed birds were lucky, and European settlers brought the custom to America, where it became especially associated with Thanksgiving turkey dinners.

Beyond the game, the wishbone actually serves an important purpose in birds. Technically called the furcula, it acts like a spring that helps birds fly, flexing and storing energy with each wingbeat. Engineers have studied wishbones to understand how birds achieve flight so efficiently.

You might also hear people say they're running a wishbone offense in football, which is a formation that spreads out in a Y-shape, or that something is wishbone-shaped when it forks into two parts. The word has become useful for describing anything that branches into a Y shape.