Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo

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Eeny, meeny, miny, moe is a children's counting rhyme, used to select a person in games such as tag, or for selecting various other things. 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". The rhyme has existed in various forms since well before 1820 and is common in many languages with similar-sounding nonsense syllables.[1]

Since many similar counting rhymes existed earlier, it is difficult to know its exact origin.

Current Version

A common modern version is:[2]

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,

Catch a tiger by the toe.

If he hollers, let him go,

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

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" or "My mother told me/says to pick the very best one, and that is Y-O-U/you are [not] it"; while another source cites "Out goes Y-O-U."[3]

American and British Version

Some versions of this rhyme use the racial slur "nigger" instead of "tiger". Iona and Peter Opie quote the following version:

Eena, meena, mina, mo,

Catch a nigger by his toe;

If he squeals let him go,

Eena, meena, mina, mo.[4]

Iona and Peter Opie pointed out in The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (1951) that the word "nigger" was common in American folklore, but unknown in any English traditional rhyme or proverb. This, combined with evidence of various other versions of the rhyme in the British Isles pre-dating this post-slavery version, would seem to suggest that it was originated in North America, although the apparently American word "holler" was first recorded in written form in England in the 14th century, whereas according to the Oxford English Dictionary the words "Niger" or "'nigger" were first recorded in England in the 16th century with their current disparaging meaning. The 'olla' and 'toe' are found as nonsense words in some 19th century versions of the rhyme.

References