(rhymes with ‘loop’) A verb, meaning to squeeze a fold of cheek skin between two fingers. Nooping is usually (though not always) done by older people to kids, using the middle joints of either the thumb and index finger or the index and middle fingers. It is supposed to convey affection but rarely succeeds. Nooping is distinguished from pinching in that pain is an undesired effect, and in that we do not use the tips or pads of the fingers, but the middle joints or the knuckles. The noun noop exists to denote an instance of nooping; thus I could say “no, I don’t want a noop!” or “that was a lame noop.”