English[edit] Noun[edit] eeny-meeny-miney-mo uncountable Alternative form of eeny, meeny, miny, moe 1959, John Knowles, chapter 3, in A Separate Peace“...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 eeny-meeny-miney-mo”. Anagrams[edit] eeny, meeny, miny, moe
Weare bombarded daily with thousands of things to lose ourselves in. It's easy to get pulled off your focus, but picking one thing that you love can get you recentered into what truly matters for you. Your passion. Your purpose. It's as easy as Eeny Meeny Miny Moe! Are you struggling to get engaged with what lights you up? Come join me for a
eeny, meeny, miny, moe redirected from eenie, meanie, miny moe eeny, meeny, miny, moeSaid when one is choosing someone or something from a group of people or things. When one says "moe," they choose the person or thing that they are currently looking at. The phrase comes from a children's rhyme. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe! You're it! Hmm, which doll should I pick? Eeny, meeny, miny, Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights alsobe at oneone could use somethingcooking for onesomething pays for itselfdrive one out of officeforce one out of officeforce out of officegive one one's headbust on onebust on someone/something
Takenothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule. There are so many phrases to describe the situation that we seem to be in at the moment with regards to the leader of our great nation. Horns of a dilemma, Hobsons Choice, lesser of two evils. In essence, the choice between either the current Foreign Secretary
It’s the only nursery rhyme that can be used to settle an argument or problems of choice. Videos by American Songwriter That’s right, we’ve all taken advantage of the catchy, quirky nursery rhyme, “Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe.” But what does the ditty mean? What is the history behind it—both good and bad—and what does it all mean? That’s what we’ll dive into today. So, without further ado, let’s do just that. Origins The catchy tune is known as a “counting-out rhyme” and it’s often used to select a person for a game or for a prize. It’s also commonly used as above with Homer Simpson when choosing what button to push, what car to select see Dodge commercial below, or any other number of options. Scholars say that the rhyme existed well before 1820 and is common in many languages, not just in English. Since many counting-out rhymes have existed earlier, it is difficult to know the ditty’s exact origin. Today, the most common English version goes like this Eeny, meeny, miny, moeCatch a tiger by the toeIf he hollers, let him goEeny, meeny, miny, moe. Other Variations Throughout history, many variations have been recorded, which include additional words, phrases, concepts, and even characters. For example My mother saidto pick thevery best oneand you are it. Or… …and you areNOT it. Possible Historical Explanations The first record of a similar rhyme, known as the “Hana, man,” originates in 1815. That’s when children in New York City are said to have often said the rhyme Hana, man, mona, mikeBarcelona, bona, strikeHare, ware, frown, vanacHarrico, warico, we wo, wac. The scholar Henry Carrington Bolton also discovered this rhyme in German Ene, tene, mone, mei,Pastor, lone, bone, strei,Ene, fune, herke, berke,Wer? Wie? Wo? Was? And author Rudyard Kipling has used this nonsense verse in his writing Eenie, Meenie, Tipsy, toe;Olla bolla Domino,Okka, Pokka dominocha,Hy! Pon! Tush! A Cornish version from 1882 goes Ena, mena, mona, mite,Bascalora, bora, bite,Hugga, bucca, bau,Eggs, butter, cheese, stock, stone dead – OUT. More Possible Historical Connections Likely, the rhyme that we know today comes to us from Old English or Welsh counting, likely from farm jobs, such as counting sheep or crops. An old shepherd’s count is known as the “Yan Tan Tehera” and the Cornish “End, mena, mona, mite” above. Another explanation comes from British colonists who returned from India after learning the rhyme used in carom billiards baji, neki, baji, thou, elim, tilim, latim, gou. There is a Swahili poem brought to the Americas by enslaved Africans that goes Iino ya mmiini maiini mo. Of course, throughout history, there are even more of these rhythmic, nonsense-sounding rhymes. And there will be more into the centuries, most likely. Sad, Racist Controversies Of course, the rhyme has been made ugly and abused. During times of slavery, the word “tiger” was replaced by the N-word. Bolton even reports that this was the most common version among American school children as of 1888, showing how ugly our history has been at times. Versions like the below also appeared in Australia, unfortunately. Bert Fitzgibbon’s 1906 song offers a window into this ugliness Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo,Catch a n—-r by the toe,If he won’t work then let him go;Skidum, skidee, when you get money, your little brideWill surely find out where you hide,So there’s the door and when I count four,Then out goes you. Adding to the problem, reportedly in 1993, a school teacher in Mequon, Wisconsin, provoked a student walkout when she said in reference to poor test scores, “What did you do? Just go eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a n—-r by the toe?” This caused the school’s district superintendent to recommend the teacher “lose three days of pay, undergo racial sensitivity training, and have a memorandum detailing the incident placed in her personnel file.” On other occasions, black airplane passengers said they were humiliated because of the rhyme’s “racist history” after a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, encouraging them to sit down on the plane so it could take off, said, “Eeny meeny miny mo, Please sit down it’s time to go.” Similar moments like this have persisted, including an unbroadcast outtake from a BBC show during which presenter Jeremy Clarkson recited the rhyme and mumbled the racist part. Clarkson later apologized to viewers. In 2017, a t-shirt retailer had the first line printed on a shirt with a baseball bat, harking to The Walking Dead character Negan, which caused some to say the shirt was offensive and “relates directly to the practice of assaulting black people in America.” There is also a moment in the film, Pulp Fiction, in which a heinous character says the rhyme and uses the N-word before engaging in sexual abuse. More Recent Versions During the Second World War, a reporter for the Associated Press in Atlanta, Georgia, reported that local school children were heard reciting a wartime variation that went Eenie, meenie, minie, moe,Catch the emperor by his he hollers make him sayI surrender to the USA.'” Another one from the 1950s went Eeeny, meeny, miney, the baby on the he’s done,Wipe his tell his mother what he’s done. Final Thoughts Today, while the rhyme has been used to cause severe racist harm, it is not thought of in these terms by most. It’s often considered a cute, quirky rhyme. But, of course, not everything we enjoy today can be taken for granted. It’s important to know the history of even the things that today seem innocuous. If we don’t know our history, we are doomed to repeat it. As in the clip of Homer on The Simpsons, the rhyme is often used in ways that have nothing to do with racism. And the origins of the rhyme likely hopefully? don’t stem from those grotesque years when humans owned other humans. But, the more you know… Photo by
. 150 146 310 104 113 390 59 279