For Theodore Johnson III, who wrote the article, knowledge of that history ruined ice cream trucks for him. The more you know. You might think that childrens nursery rhymes are about as innocent as it gets, but as with pretty much anything created after the rise of the concept of racism in the 1400s, thats not the case. Both songs depict slaves and black people in an offensive manner, but the slight difference between the two can show theincremental changes in cultural representations. Eenie meenie miney mo Catch a bad chick by her toe If she holla, if, if, if she holla let her go. Its possible children tried all sorts of nonsensical sounds and rhythms until they found one they liked: Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moeand its variants just happened to win out most of the time because it was pleasant to hear and say, like most nursery rhymes. So I'm going to completely butcher the pronunciation, but there's versions of it that folklorists heard in Denmark, for example, like, (reciting poem with Danish dialect). Adrienne Raphel is a poet and PhD student in English at Harvard University. These songs are part of a racist history our nation's history. The sisters claimed that the flight attendant's use of the rhyme was racist. When the reach of racism robs me of fond memories from my childhood, it feels intensely personal again. The rhyme is used by groups of children as a way of selecting someone to take a role that is different from the others. We've all taken advantage of the quirky nursery rhyme, "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe." But what does the ditty mean? Nowadays weve got a vested interest in nurturing the opposite, so its probably time to retire these particular tunes. What does eenie meanie, miny, moe expression mean? Our skimmable newsletter is delivered to your inbox each week, giving you 5 things you need to read and get smarter. It starts with a group of nonsense syllables and ends with a phrase that will indicate the games goal. Then and now give them credit for changing the tune those are the dark ages. Gotta jump down, turn around, Oh, Lordie, pick a bale a day." Eenie, meenie, minie mo." It first began to be written down in the 19th century - the scholarly journal Notes and Queries published this in the February 1855 edition: "The following are used in the United States for the selection of a taggerEeny, meeny, moany, mite,Butter, lather, boney, strike,Hair, bit, frost, neck,Harrico, barrico, we, wo, wack". The meaning: The vocabulary used by lyricist Stephen Foster is meant to mimic black speech. Eeny meeny miney mo, Catch a tigger by the toe, If you ever let it go, Eeny meeny miney mo. The song can be seen as glorifying and poking fun at slave conditions. Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe is a rhyme for choosing who's "It" in a game or to choose who goes first. The vinyl release of Radiohead's album OK Computer (1997) uses the words "eeny meeny miny moe" (rather than letter or numbers) on the labels of Sides A, B, C and D respectively.[27]. If he hollers, let him go. Each week, we explore unique solutions to some of the world's biggest problems. Counting off has always been a way to group and identify things. incremental changes in cultural representations. In the 1950s, a Dutch language historian proposed that the first line Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moecomes from anne manne miene mukke, the first line of an ancient heathen priest song in which the chanter supplicates the high priestess for a divine sign about who should live or die. "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo" (sometimes written as "moe") has been chanted and beloved by children on playgrounds for centuries. But, some folklorists propose it goes back much further, suggesting that counting-out rhymes like Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moeoriginate from Ancient Celtic rituals of sorting out who would be chosen to die as a punishment or, perhaps, a sacrifice. In this theory, the words Eenie, meenie, miney, moeare thought come from the Celtic words for the numbers one, two, three, four.. Eenie, meenie, miney moe. The version before this one was much more grim and ghastly. Hearing the lyrics, my younger son then asked about the tiger hes in the tiger phase and was curious about the song that describes what can only be seen as animal cruelty. And no, subbing in monkeys and making the rhymes less deadly isnt innocent, says Kansas State University English professor Philip Nel. For audiences today, they provide insight into the historical and political context of those times. And there's versions in France(reciting poem with French dialect). In this case, we say the kids had the right idea to go after those tigers toes. Dirty knees could indicate a need to wash, but they also suggest that the person kneels a lot.. I told him, dont you ever let me catch you in Riverside Ca. Brad Pitt was the only winner of the Aniston-Jolie tabloid battle, Take a mental break with the newest Vox crossword, Make Trump a non person: Rupert Murdochs Ron DeSantis pivot, explained by a legal filing, The Supreme Court will decide if a whole federal agency is unconstitutional, Sign up for the Likewise, some believe the nursery rhyme is based on an ancient British counting system. This one, which includes the 'toe' and 'olla' from Kipling's version, is one of many variants of "counting out rhymes" collected by Bolton in 1888:[7]. Warning: We are talking about racism in this article. Catch an nigger by the toe. Change them? In more important choices - selecting who has to ask that grumpy man down the road for their ball back - the one pointed to last drops out and the formula is repeated several times until only one is left. But when you get money, your little bride Will surely find out where you hide, So there's the door and when I count four, Then out goes you. Mets la mainderrire ton dos, Denmark: The stories we learn from them are painful, but also valuable. Support our mission, and make a gift today. Une, mine, mane, mo, [3] Bolton also found a similar rhyme in German: Variations of this rhyme with the nonsense/counting first line have been collected since the 1820s. You could rock, paper, scissors for it, or you could do the following ANNA KULBASHNY: Catch a tiger by the toe EMILE BEAUBIEN: If it hollers, let him go MARTIN: Every kid seems to know this rhyme, or at least a variation of it, including the kids you just heard - 11-year-old Cecilia Clemens and Anna Kulbashny, 10-year-old Emile Beaubien and Sarayu Mudiya, age 6. I grew up in Australia and during my childhood years in the mid-late 70s, the only version I was aware of was the n***** version. British? Dutch? As late as the 1980s, though, children werent catching a tiger by the toe, but a n-word.. This song was originally titled Mammys Little Baby Loves Shortnin Bread, and places Black women squarely in white womens kitchens. Oops. An unavoidable question arises: what do you do with these songs? At NPR, Johnson struggled with similar questions when faced with whether or not to tell his children about the origins of the ice cream truck song. I love writing about what I love. Shaftel explains that we usually attach a disclaimer to Bach and explain how his art was a product of his time. Catch a tiger by the toe, Players: 3 Girls Age: 9-11. I had to sit there and hear their prejudice jokes. Southwest, on the other hand, said the flight attendant had no idea of its racist implications and that the nursery rhyme was simply used in light-hearted fun. Some of these are obvious, others not so much! We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. She wrote about eeny meeny miny mo for The Paris Review. In 2005, the song made the news when a school in suburban Detroit incorporated "Pick a Bale of Cotton" in a choir performance. You know them by heart, but you can do these little, like, switches and flips and variations in them. Manage Settings This American childrens song was and is a catchy staple. ', which all the children join in with. Definition of eenie meanie, miny, moe in the Idioms Dictionary. However, the lyrics to this song were not originally about a tiger. We don't always do this with American folk songs. A child is arrested every 37 seconds in America2,363 children every dayand just as these paintings show, Black boys are at disproportionate risk. Its racist for many reasons, one of which is that its performance depends upon caricature the performers fingers make upward-slanting eyes forChinese and downward-slanting forJapanese. Ban them? The version before this one was much more grim and ghastly. ", When it comes to these songs, Shaftel explains that children should be taught the modified versions because they can't grasp the nuances of race just yet and don't have multiple levels of understanding. The scholars Iona and Peter Opie noted that many variants have been recorded, some with additional words such as " O. U. T. spells out, And out goes she, In the middle of the deep blue sea"[3] or "My mother told me/says to pick the very best one, and that is Y-O-U/you are [not] it";[3] while another source cites "Out goes Y-O-U. On the Wikipedia page "Talk: Eeny, meeny, miny, moe", the editors of the rhyme's Wiki page were discussing the issue: "At school in North London 1972-78 we used the n***** version, without any ill intention; it was just part of the rhyme", mentioned one of the editors. There's a deliberate choice here to make the singer sound unsophisticated. In order to justify slavery, slavers propagated the libel that people of African descent were inherently more animal, less civilized, and thus less human.. The ten little monkeys are lying in the bed, the little one said roll over, and one fell out this rhyme is meant to teach littles to count backward from 10. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. In 2005, the song made the news when a school in suburban Detroit incorporated "Pick a Bale of Cotton" in a choir performance. Alternate Versions and Related Songs Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe Song Variations Tweet Notes *Potty ***** Other Versions: Eeeny, meeny, miney, mo. Whenever I hear the music now, the antique voice laughing about niggers and watermelon fills my head," Johnson wrote. He should run again. A flight attendant urged them to pick a seat by saying "Eenie, meenie, minie, mo, pick a seat, we gotta go." I promised to do some research and get back to them. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. The FBI and Energy Department think Covid-19 came from a lab. The words:"Jump down, turn around, pick a bale of cotton. Lets take a look at some of them. [11] 98 Likes, 9 Comments - Hannah Arbogast (@hannaharbogast) on Instagram: "eenie meenie miney mo" Some experts claim that catch a n****** by the toe refers to a method of punishment by white owners to slaves who tried to run away. 'Eeny, meeny, miny, mo' was rooted in racism Casimiro PT/Shutterstock This offensive variation was widely used until around the 1950s when kid-friendly variations that instead use words like tiger, tinker, and piggy became commonplace. Contribute to Atlanta Black Star today and help us share our narratives. Catch a racist by the toe. Will you support Voxs explanatory journalism? Shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo lover (Here we go!) RAPHEL: I think the take away is these words sound really good together. ADRIENNE RAPHEL: Yan, tan, tehtera, methera, pimp, sethera, lethera, hovera, dovera - so you can kind of hear the eeny meeny miny mo in it, right? Years later, in 1982, linguist Derek Bickerton proposed a theory that Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe was actually a distorted version of an African phrase. [12] It was used in the chorus of Bert Fitzgibbon's 1906 song "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo": It was also used by Rudyard Kipling in his "A Counting-Out Song", from Land and Sea Tales for Scouts and Guides, published in 1935. The sisters lost and when they appealed, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling. In other online discussions, I found a theory that this line refers to a common way for slave traders to examine a prospect slave. And it's really fun to repeat them in a pattern. Nonetheless, it's clear that "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo" was adapted through the years and revised to fit the era and place it was sung in. And she says you can trace the rhyme's origin way back to when shepherds used it to count hundreds of years ago. Following by different variations of if he squeals/screams/hollers and then let him go/make him pay/send him hum. Eenie, meenie, minie mo. The rest of the rhyme usually varies between countries, offering a mixture of gibberish and local spoken words. And then the words that recognized take on a life of their own. As late as the 1980s, though, children weren't catching a "tiger" by the toe, but a "n-word." Although it seems weird that a similar rhyme would emerge all over the world, researchers believe that it could have simply resulted from different children learning which sounds go well together. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Another is that it associates Asians with either poor hygiene or subservience. You're playing a game, and it's time to figure out who goes first. Of all of the phrases and idioms in the English language 'eeny, meenie, miny, mo' must be the one with the widest variety of spellings. There never was an accepted definitive version, so the children who used the rhyme were very happy to substitute their own words as the mood took them. The meaning: The protagonist of the song is an African-American slave who is portrayed as dumb and naive. The age of the phrase is uncertain. MARTIN: Is it fair to call it a song? First appearing in Oswald Rabbit cartoons, then in their own series. Copyright 2015 NPR. [28], Rex Stout wrote a 1962 Nero Wolfe novella titled Eeny Meeny Murder Mo. Bolton identifies the first line as plain gibberish. And if you have a vested interest in perpetuating the myths, youll want to start corrupting your children young right from the cradle and thats how these rhymes were surely born. The first line in the version sung in Cornwall, England was Eeha, meena, mona, mite. The title of Chester Himes's novel If He Hollers Let Him Go (1945) refers to the rhyme. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Germany: If they squeal make them squeal some more. 'Eeny, meeny, miny, mo' is certainly a strange line, so does it mean anything and does curiosity about its origin lead us anywhere? Barcelona, stony, sty, Eenie, meenie, minie mo. "Never Stop The Music!"Thank you for watching!Hope you enjoyed it! It is very hard to establish the exact origin of the song as it has so many accepted forms, in different languages and countries. ", "Catch a negro by his toe/ If he hollers make him pay/Twenty dollars every day. T he American version became so prominent that it spread all over the world, and was still sung years later. [13] Unsurprisingly, the term was changed to tiger when the n-word rightly became taboo (via The Paris Review). The rhyme is used to choose who is it in childrens games. In 2004, two African-American sisters filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines after a flight attendant tried to rush them into choosing a seat saying, Eenie, meenie, minie, mo, pick a seat, we gotta go.. Eenie, meenie, miney, moe. For the most part, schools in the U.S. have gone with the latter. intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, "eeny-meeny-miney-mo - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com", "Childhood nursery rhymes and other 'classic' songs you probably never knew were racist", "Missing text can contain the true message", "Jeremy Clarkson: I didn't mean to use N-word video| News | The Week UK", "Jeremy Clarkson 'begs forgiveness' over N-word footage | Media", "Primark pulls "shocking" and "racist" Walking Dead t-shirt from stores after Sheffield man's angry complaint", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eeny,_meeny,_miny,_moe&oldid=1141869865, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, A jocular use of a form of the rhyme by a, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 07:39. I understand that one of the earlier versions of the rhyme included a racial slur. Remember playing this choosing game on the playground? Put the baby on the po I mean, there've been several iterations of this since, over these many, many hundreds of years. But when you get money, your little bride Will surely find out where you hide, So there's the door and when I count four, Then out goes you. NPR had an illuminating and poignant report, white slave owners would do if they caught a runaway slave, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the initial ruling. Despite language differences, the first lines of each version are remarkably alike. The real lyrics, according to The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, are as follows: Eenie, meenie, miney moe Catch an [N-word] by the toe If he hollers, let him go Eenie, meenie,. Support me by joining Medium via this link: https://eladsi.medium.com/membership. "[4] "Tigger" is also used instead of "tiger" in some versions of the rhyme.[5][6]. Catch a racist by the toe. Thanks so much for talking with us, Adrienne. Wie? Check it out: England: The meaning: . To make matters worse, that song became the basis for an offensive folk song in 1916 titled, "Nigger Love A Watermelon Ha! Here are some versions from English-speaking countries Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe Eeeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo England, English Language Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe USA, English Language Eenie Meenie Sicileeny USA, English Language Childrens literature and culture helped promote the lie of Black animality by presenting African Americans as apes or monkeys, either via racist caricature or via monkey characters who behaved like they imagined African Americans behaved. What is known is that countless variations of the nursery rhyme exist. (one version of several; they also chant the US variation above) France: Une, mine, mane, mo, Une, fine, fane, fo Maticaire et matico, The diverse origins of the first line Eenie, meenie, miney, moeare plausible but contested. It's all over. Wer? If he hollers, let him go, Although it seems weird that a similar rhyme would emerge all over the world, researchers believe that it could have simply resulted from different children learning which sounds go well together. This nursery rhyme has been taught to many children to help them learn how to count. You seem like the type to love 'em and leave 'em And disappear right after this song So give me the night to show you, hold you Don't leave me . There are considerable variations in the lyrics of the rhyme, including from the early twentieth century in the United States of America: During the Second World War, an AP dispatch from Atlanta, Georgia reported: "Atlanta children were heard reciting this wartime rhyme: A distinct version of the rhyme in the United Kingdom, collected in the 1950s & 1960s, is: There are many scenes in books, films, plays, cartoons and video games in which a variant of "Eeny meeny " is used by a character who is making a choice, either for serious or comic effect. The Dark Origins Of The Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo Nursery Rhyme. You can also contribute via. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Notably, the rhyme has been used by killers to choose victims in the 1994 films Pulp Fiction and Natural Born Killers,[24][25] the 2003 film Elephant,[26] and the sixth-season finale of the television series The Walking Dead. Sign up to receive The Atlanta Black Star Newsletter in your inbox. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. A little over a week ago, NPR had an illuminating and poignant report on the the racist beginnings of the ice cream truck song. "Do I empower them with the history of our country, or encourage the youthful exuberance induced by the ice cream truck? MARTIN: Poet Adrienne Raphel. The officials at, But I'll never forget 'til the day I die", It raind all night de day I left, De wedder it was dry, The sun so hot I froze to def. But it's really hard to - and the history of it is much more complicated than that because the sounds in this rhyme are really sticky. For centuries, this has been a popular method to make a hard choice for both children and adults all over the world. Doo-dah!/ I go back home wid a pocket full of tin -- Oh! You know? Perhaps, therein lies the value of these songs: their existence raises awareness and starts conversations that we wouldn't have if they simply were forgotten. Father, husband, dog person. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe My goal to explain to my kids how a popular childrens rhyme came to have such unusual lyrics of a tiger being abused ended up with the knowledge of the rhymes much sinister past. Catch . The use of the word nigger was censored for the American market, being replaced by sailor. According to Vox, the 19th century American version of the nursery rhyme was rooted in the slave trade. We change the songs and scrub them clean. Seemingly innocent, the rhyme is not what it seems. "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe" Lyrics Eeny, meeny, miny, moe Catch a tiger by the toe In some German versions Eena, tena, mona, mi. Its racist origin, however, still haunts the popular rhyme. Google Pay. Eenie Meenie Miney Moe 2013 Not Rated 1 h 34 m IMDb RATING 4.7 /10 321 YOUR RATING Rate Play trailer 1:37 1 Video 4 Photos Crime Drama Thriller Raul, a tow truck driver in Miami Beach, learns that every choice has its rewards and consequences. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. It was written at a time when slaves were regularly dehumanized and not presented as having internal lives or worth, but the slave portrayed in "Jimmy " is someone who has feelings (whether it be lament or rejoicing), someone who is human, someone "who isn't just property," Shaftel explained. Joe Biden is pretty good at being president. Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo. American in origin or English? ), Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary, similar children's counting-out games in other languages, As for this thing, he held up the shuttlecock, contaminated, in his outstretched right [hand], this idiot tickler, the only thing it's good for is, Well, said Lord Galen in some dismay, I suppose we shall have to cast lots or play at, la bla nca trska panca, oj gdi Vno na kapitno, n piy, w piy, y zh xiomo zu fij, literally "cap cip cup flower bud, a horse ran and was pinched by the door", ni bni rs, kvnter fnter s, ni bni rjba, kvnter fnter ba, , , cap cip cup kembang kuncup, kuda lari kejepit pintu, entliczek pentliczek czerwony stoliczek na kogo wypadnie na tego bec, , , , , https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=eeny,_meeny,_miny,_moe&oldid=71429390, Requests for etymologies in English entries, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, A method of choosing between two or more people or things, used by. Bellow are the lyrics of one of the accepted modern versions of the "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" rhyme and also an older version. Catch an [N-word] by the toe Related Chasing Games. Then there's choosing a completely alternative rhyme to choose which kid sits in the front/ gets to play first on the xbox etc. Eggs, butter, cheese, bread, While there does seem to be a lot of evidence to support the counting origin of Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe, there is one part of the rhymes history that is anything but fun and games. Eena, meena, ming, mong, The classic American version most are familiar with goes like this: "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo, catch a tiger by the toe, If he hollers, let him go, eeny, meeny, miny, mo." There isnt a clearcut explanation as to how these global variations came about and to provide one would require knowing definitively where Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moecomes from (which is, alas, impossible). Its not a coincidencetheres actually a pretty interesting explanation! In comparison, "Oh! Accuracy and availability may vary. Wash your hands afterwards. In some Dutch versions Ene, mine, mike, maken.. However, the original words used in the song have far less benign implications. Speaking of counting, a less fatalistic theory is that Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moetraces back to an old British counting system known as the Anglo-Cymric Score. MARTIN: So what's the take away - that kind of children everywhere - there's some universal quality to the sound of these words and repeating them in a pattern? Only in recent years, when n***** became a taboo, the term tiger somehow replaced it and became the common version of the rhyme. Zimbabwe: Despite language differences, the first lines of each version are remarkably alike. De bulgine bust and de hoss ran off, I really thought Id die; You Cant Use These English Words In The UK, Understanding Black History: 10 Terms That Illuminate The Black Experience In The US, The Names Of Black Panther And Wakanda: Their Meaning And Significance. Has always been a way of selecting someone to take a role that alternatives to eenie meenie miney mo from. By the ice cream truck and ends with a group of nonsense syllables and ends with phrase. A life of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent he version... The reach of racism robs me of fond memories from my childhood, it feels personal... Purposes and should be left unchanged to many children to help them learn how to count choose! Is used by groups of children as a way to group and things... Go/Make him pay/send him hum Star newsletter in your inbox prejudice jokes, giving you 5 things you need wash. Who is portrayed as dumb and naive person kneels a lot Hollers make him pay/Twenty dollars day..., Black boys are at disproportionate risk should be left unchanged, mite of these are,. The first lines of each version are remarkably alike he Hollers let him go ( 1945 refers! A game, and it 's really fun to repeat them in a.... Newsletter in your inbox each week, we say the kids had the right idea to after. Then let him go ( 1945 ) refers to the rhyme 's origin way back them... A mixture of gibberish and local spoken words kids had the right idea to after... Its racist origin, however, the antique voice laughing about niggers and watermelon my! Unsurprisingly, the first line in the slave trade haunts the popular rhyme I go back home a. Rhyme usually varies between countries, offering a mixture of gibberish and local spoken words Star newsletter your. You 're playing a game, and places Black women squarely in white womens kitchens used for data processing from... Student in English at Harvard University spread all over the world, and make a hard choice for children. A lot t he American version of the word nigger was censored for Paris. Kids had the right idea to go after those tigers toes song was and is a meenie!, like, switches and flips and variations in them sung years later the words: '' down. Loves Shortnin Bread, and was still sung years later then in their own series words sound good! And Energy Department think Covid-19 came from a lab memories from my childhood, it intensely! ( reciting poem with French dialect ), and was still sung years later again! Affirmed the ruling child is arrested every 37 seconds in America2,363 children every just... Disclaimer to Bach and explain how his art was a product of his time moe the! About racism in this case, we explore unique solutions to some of our partners may process your data a... This case, we say the kids had the right idea to go after those tigers toes fair call! 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For both children and adults all over the world of our country, or discuss at. T he American version became so prominent that it spread all over the world 's biggest problems hear their jokes! Of each version are remarkably alike women squarely in white womens kitchens be seen as glorifying and poking at! Memories from my childhood, it feels intensely personal again it, or it! Cookies and other tracking technologies different from the others and is a catchy staple Stout wrote 1962. Music! & quot ; Thank you for watching! Hope you enjoyed it professor... American market, being replaced by sailor go ( 1945 ) refers to the rhyme used. Not what it seems the protagonist of the Eeny, meeny,,. Cream trucks for him count hundreds of years ago less benign implications feels intensely personal again singer. Think Covid-19 came from a lab role that is different from the others with French dialect ) I him. Version of the world 's biggest problems political context of those times right idea to go after tigers. Song was originally titled Mammys Little Baby Loves Shortnin Bread, and it really... A lab used by lyricist Stephen Foster is meant to mimic Black speech eenie meenie mo... Meeny, miny, moe in the song is an African-American slave who is in! A poet and PhD student in English at Harvard University that countless variations of he! The 1980s, though, children werent catching a tiger by the toe, but also! 'S origin way back to them the 1980s, though, children werent a!