Sometimes additional lines are added at the end of the rhyme to draw out or manipulate the selection process or make it seem less predetermined, such as: My mother told me/says to pick the very best one, and that is Y-O-U and changing the verb in the third line to "screams", "wiggles", "squeals" or another verb. There are many common variations, such as replacing tiger with "piggy", "tinker", "tigger", a two-syllable name, etc. If he hollers, let him go, Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Current versionsĪ common modern version is: Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, Catch a tiger by the toe. The rhyme can be controversial because of racist versions. Since many similar counting rhymes existed earlier, it is difficult to ascertain this rhyme's exact origin. The rhyme has existed in various forms since well before 1820, and is common in many languages with similar-sounding nonsense syllables. It is one of a large group of similar rhymes in which the child who is pointed to by the chanter on the last syllable is either "chosen" or "counted out".
#RACIST VERSION OF EENIE MEENIE MINEY MO FULL VERSION#
"Hooray" conveys just as much merriment as the full version and comes from hurrah, a version of huzzah, a "sailor's shout of exaltation." Eeny, meeny, miny, moe"-which can be spelled a number of ways-is a children's counting rhyme, used to select a person in games such as tag. Just to be safe, avoid the first two words. Or German shepherds or hunters may have used "hep hep" as a traditional command to rally trained dogs. The Crusaders may have used this as a battle cry, although little proof exists. "Hep" is likely an acronym for "Hierosolyma est perdita" which means "Jerusalem has fallen" in Latin. Nazis reportedly cheered "hep hep" as they forced Jews from their homes across Europe. Though steeped in controversy, this first part of this phrase might relate to the Hep Hep Riots - anti-Semitic demonstrations started in Germany in the 19th century. Rudyard Kipling mentions it as a "counting-out song" (basically a way for kids to eliminate candidates for being "It" in hide-and-seek) in "Land And Sea Tales For Scouts And Guides." 11. This modern, unoffensive version comes from a similar, older one, where n***er replaces tiger. Most notably, the term evolved into "football hooliganism," destructive behavior from European football (but really, soccer) fans, many of them Irish.Įenie, meenie, miney, moe / Catch a tiger by the toe / If he hollers let him go / Eenie, meenie miney, moe Whatever the case, somewhere an Irish family landed a bad rap. Other sources, like Clarence Rook's book, "The Hooligan Nights," claim that Patrick Houlihan actually existed.
![racist version of eenie meenie miney mo racist version of eenie meenie miney mo](https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/sheetmusic/b/b06/b0628/b0628-3-150dpi.jpeg)
The Oxford Online Dictionary speculates it evolved from the fictional surname, "Houlihan," included in a popular pub song about a rowdy Irish family. This phrase started appearing in London newspaper around 1898. Many considered the Bogomils heretical and thus, said they approached sex in an "inverse way." In Hungarian, a related word still means a slur for homosexual men. The term stemmed from the Bogomils, who led a religious sect during the Middle Ages called "Bulgarus." Through various languages, the term morphed into "bugger."
When you call someone a "bugger," you're accusing them of being a Bulgarian sodomite.