Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
Encyclopedia
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe", which can be spelled a number of ways, is a children's counting rhyme, used to select a person to be "it" for games (such as tag
) and similar purposes such as counting out a child that has to be stood down from a group of children as part of a playground game. It is one of a large group of similar 'Counting-out rhymes' where the child pointed-to by the chanter on the last syllable is 'counted out'. The rhyme has existed in various forms since well before 1820, and is common in many languages including German forms, with similar-sounding nonsense syllables.
Since many similar counting rhymes existed earlier, it is difficult to ascertain this rhyme's exact origin.
Common variations, particularly in United Kingdom, substitute "tinker", "tigger" or "chicken" for tiger and use "squeals" rather than hollers. 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:
Occasionally the line copies 'Ip dip
':
Another Variation that can be found within Australia includes:
counting, as can be seen in the East Anglian Shepherd's count, "Ina, mina, tehra, methera
" or the Cornish
"Eena, mea, mona, mite". There are similar examples of children's rhymes that were collected in England that are more obviously counting rhymes up to ten, such as 'Ya, ta, tethera, pethera, pip, Slata, lata, covera, dovera, dick'. More surprising was the one recorded in America from a Native American by Charles Withers which went 'Een, teen, tether, fether, fip; Sather, lather, gother, dather, dix'.
The first American record of a similar rhyme is from about 1815, when children in New York are said to have repeated the rhyme:
The rhyme seems to have been unknown in England among collectors until the late nineteenth century, although it was found by Henry Bolton in the USA, Ireland and Scotland in the 1880s. He also found a similar rhyme in German:
The most common English form seems to be
but there is a well-entrenched version, collected from Durham.
Variations of this rhyme, with the nonsense/counting first line have been collected since the 1820s, such as this Scottish one ..
More recognizable as a variation, which even includes the 'toe' and 'olla' from Kipling's version is
...which was one of many variants of 'counting out Rhymes' collected by Bolton in 1888.
Another possibility is that the British occupiers of India brought a doggerel
version of an Indian children's rhyme used in the game of carom billiards:
Another rhyme popular in India which closely matches the initial couplet in similar-sounding words goes like...
अक्कड़ बक्कड़ बाम्बे बो (Akkad Bakkad Bambay Bo)
अस्सी नब्भे पूरे सौ (Assi Nabbe Pooray Sau = 80 90 total 100)
सौ में लगी बिल्ली (Sau mein lagi billi = Buy a cat with 100)
बिल्ली भागी दिल्ली (Billi bhaagi Dilli = The cat ran away to Delhi)
बोले शेख चिल्ली (Bolay Shekh Chilli = The Saint Chilly said...)
खेले डंडा गिल्ली (Khelay Danda Gilli = (They) Play (game called) Danda Gilli)
गिल्ली गई टूट (Gilli gayi toot = The Gilli Broke)
बच्चे गए रूठ (Bachchay Gaye Rooth = The children went cross)
बच्चों को मनाएंगे (Bachchon ko manainge = We'll coerce the kids)
रस मलाई खायेंगे (Ras-Malayi Khainge = They'll eat sweet dish)
रस मलाई अच्छी (Ras-Malayi Achchee = The sweet dish was good)
हमने खायी मच्छी (Hamne Khayi Machchee = We ate fish)
मच्छी में काँटा (Machchee mein kaanta = The fish had a bone)
पड़ेगा ज़ोर से चांटा (Padeyga zor se chhanta = You'll get a slap)
This is usually followed by the last person being either selected for his turn in the game, or slapped softly.
David Zincavage asserts that the origin is Scottish and posits that the first line of the verse is a corruption of Inimicus animo, a Latin phrase that translates as "enemy of the soul." The second line uses "nigger" and this goes to early depictions of the devil as black, as opposed to the modern red; we still have references to darkness as being evil. If you catch the devil by the toe, it won't cause his cloven hoof any pain. If, instead, you've pinched a human's toe instead, he'll yelp, and since you have made a mistake in identifying him, you should release him.
(instead of tiger
) and are less popular now because of the waning public acceptability of the word, including:
This version was similar to that reported as the most common version among American schoolchildren in 1888. 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. This may have helped popularise this version in the United Kingdom where it seems to have replaced all earlier versions until late twentieth century.
Iona and Peter Opie pointed out in The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes that the word "nigger" was common in American folk-lore, but unknown in any English traditional rhyme or proverb. This, combined with evidence of various other versions of the rhyme in the UK that pre-date this version, would seem to suggest that this version originated in America, although the apparently American word 'Holler' was first recorded in written form in the fourteenth century, whereas the words 'Niger' or 'Nigger' were first seen in the sixteenth century in Britain, with their current disparaging meaning (O.E.D.). The 'olla' and 'toe' are found as nonsense words in some nineteenth century versions of the rhyme, and it could possibly be that the original 'Where do all the Frenchmen Go?' (probably originating during one of the periods of Anglo-French warfare) was later on replaced by the controversial version in the States, using some of the nonsense words.
Many people who grew up before the late 1960s are likely to report having heard or grown up with this controversial version of the rhyme. Since then, and especially after the Civil Rights Act of 1964
, this variation has become quite rare in the U.S, although it was used in television programs broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC as late as 1972 (see Television listing in Popular Culture, below).
A distinct version of the rhyme in the United Kingdom, collected in the 1960s, is:
flight attendant
, encouraging passengers to sit down so the plane could take off, led to a 2003 lawsuit charging the airline with racism
. Two versions of the rhyme were attested in court; both "Eeny meeny miny mo, Please sit down it's time to go" and "Pick a seat, it's time to go". The passengers in question were black people
and stated that they were humiliated.
The phrase sometimes appears in other ways, including:
Tag (game)
Tag is a playground game played worldwide that involves one or more players chasing other players in an attempt to tag or touch them, usually with their fingers. There are many variations...
) and similar purposes such as counting out a child that has to be stood down from a group of children as part of a playground game. It is one of a large group of similar 'Counting-out rhymes' where the child pointed-to by the chanter on the last syllable is 'counted out'. The rhyme has existed in various forms since well before 1820, and is common in many languages including German forms, with similar-sounding nonsense syllables.
Since many similar counting rhymes existed earlier, it is difficult to ascertain this rhyme's exact origin.
Current versions
Common modern versions include:- Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
- Catch the tiger/monkey/baby/spider by the toe.
- If it hollers/screams/wiggles let it/him go,
- Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, you are it!
Common variations, particularly in United Kingdom, substitute "tinker", "tigger" or "chicken" for tiger and use "squeals" rather than hollers. 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 to pick the very best one,
- And that is Y-O-U (alternative: And you are [not] it!)
Occasionally the line copies 'Ip dip
Ip dip
Ip dip is a rhythmic rhyming game with many variations, the purpose of which is to select an individual from a group, for instance to choose the starting player of a game...
':
- Not because you're dirty,
- Not because you're clean,
- Just because you kissed a boy/girl behind the magazine.
Another Variation that can be found within Australia includes:
- Eenie, Meenie, Miney Mo,
- Catch a tigger by the toe,
- If it squeals, let it go,
- Eenie, Meenie, Miney Mo,
- My mum told me how to count to ten,
- One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten,
- And Back again,
- Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One,
- Eenie, Meenie, Miney Mo,
- Catch a tigger by the toe,
- If it squeals, let it go,
- Eenie, Meenie, Miney Mo!
Origins
One major theory about the origins of the rhyme is that it is descended from Old English or CelticCeltic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
counting, as can be seen in the East Anglian Shepherd's count, "Ina, mina, tehra, methera
Yan Tan Tethera
Yan Tan Tethera is a sheep counting rhyme traditionally used by shepherds in Northern England. Until the Industrial Revolution, the use of traditional number systems was common among shepherds, especially in the dales of the Lake District. The Yan Tan Tethera system was also used for counting...
" or the Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
"Eena, mea, mona, mite". There are similar examples of children's rhymes that were collected in England that are more obviously counting rhymes up to ten, such as 'Ya, ta, tethera, pethera, pip, Slata, lata, covera, dovera, dick'. More surprising was the one recorded in America from a Native American by Charles Withers which went 'Een, teen, tether, fether, fip; Sather, lather, gother, dather, dix'.
The first American record of a similar rhyme is from about 1815, when children in New York are said to have repeated the rhyme:
- Hana, man, mona, mike;
- Barcelona, bona, strike;
- Hare, ware, frown, vanac;
- Harrico, warico, we wo, wac.
The rhyme seems to have been unknown in England among collectors until the late nineteenth century, although it was found by Henry Bolton in the USA, Ireland and Scotland in the 1880s. He also found a similar rhyme in German:
- Ene, tene, mone, mei,
- Pastor, lone, bone, strei,
- Ene, fune, herke, berke,
- Wer? Wie? Wo? Was?
The most common English form seems to be
- Eena, Meena, Mona, My,
- Barcelona, Bona, stry,
- Air, ware, frum, dy,
- Aracy, baraca, we, wo, wack
but there is a well-entrenched version, collected from Durham.
- Eena meena mina mo,
- Where do all the Frenchmen go?
- To the East and to the West,
- To the bonny birdie's nest;
- Apples in the garden,
- fishes in the sea,
- if you want a pretty girl
- please choose me!
Variations of this rhyme, with the nonsense/counting first line have been collected since the 1820s, such as this Scottish one ..
- Hickery Pickery, pease scon
- Where will this young man gang?
- He'll go east, he'll go west,
- he'll go to the crow's nest.
- Hickery Pickery, Hickery Pickery
More recognizable as a variation, which even includes the 'toe' and 'olla' from Kipling's version is
- Eenie, Meenie, Tipsy, toe;
- Olla bolla Domino,
- Okka, Pokka dominocha,
- Hy! Pon! Tush!
...which was one of many variants of 'counting out Rhymes' collected by Bolton in 1888.
Another possibility is that the British occupiers of India brought a doggerel
Doggerel
Doggerel is a derogatory term for verse considered of little literary value. The word probably derived from dog, suggesting either ugliness, puppyish clumsiness, or unpalatability in the 1630s.-Variants:...
version of an Indian children's rhyme used in the game of carom billiards:
- ubi eni mana bou,
- baji neki baji thou,
- elim tilim latim gou.
Another rhyme popular in India which closely matches the initial couplet in similar-sounding words goes like...
अक्कड़ बक्कड़ बाम्बे बो (Akkad Bakkad Bambay Bo)
अस्सी नब्भे पूरे सौ (Assi Nabbe Pooray Sau = 80 90 total 100)
सौ में लगी बिल्ली (Sau mein lagi billi = Buy a cat with 100)
बिल्ली भागी दिल्ली (Billi bhaagi Dilli = The cat ran away to Delhi)
बोले शेख चिल्ली (Bolay Shekh Chilli = The Saint Chilly said...)
खेले डंडा गिल्ली (Khelay Danda Gilli = (They) Play (game called) Danda Gilli)
गिल्ली गई टूट (Gilli gayi toot = The Gilli Broke)
बच्चे गए रूठ (Bachchay Gaye Rooth = The children went cross)
बच्चों को मनाएंगे (Bachchon ko manainge = We'll coerce the kids)
रस मलाई खायेंगे (Ras-Malayi Khainge = They'll eat sweet dish)
रस मलाई अच्छी (Ras-Malayi Achchee = The sweet dish was good)
हमने खायी मच्छी (Hamne Khayi Machchee = We ate fish)
मच्छी में काँटा (Machchee mein kaanta = The fish had a bone)
पड़ेगा ज़ोर से चांटा (Padeyga zor se chhanta = You'll get a slap)
This is usually followed by the last person being either selected for his turn in the game, or slapped softly.
David Zincavage asserts that the origin is Scottish and posits that the first line of the verse is a corruption of Inimicus animo, a Latin phrase that translates as "enemy of the soul." The second line uses "nigger" and this goes to early depictions of the devil as black, as opposed to the modern red; we still have references to darkness as being evil. If you catch the devil by the toe, it won't cause his cloven hoof any pain. If, instead, you've pinched a human's toe instead, he'll yelp, and since you have made a mistake in identifying him, you should release him.
Controversial version
Older versions of this rhyme had the word niggerNigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
(instead of tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
) and are less popular now because of the waning public acceptability of the word, including:
- Eeny, meena, mina, mo,
- Catch a nigger by the toe;
- If he squeals let him go,
- Eena, meena, mina, mo.
This version was similar to that reported as the most common version among American schoolchildren in 1888. It was used in the chorus of Bert Fitzgibbon's 1906 song "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo":
- Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo,
- Catch a nigger by his toe,
- If he won't work then let him go;
- Skidum, skidee, skidoo.
- 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.
It was also used by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
in his "A Counting-Out Song", from Land and Sea Tales for Scouts and Guides, published in 1935. This may have helped popularise this version in the United Kingdom where it seems to have replaced all earlier versions until late twentieth century.
Iona and Peter Opie pointed out in The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes that the word "nigger" was common in American folk-lore, but unknown in any English traditional rhyme or proverb. This, combined with evidence of various other versions of the rhyme in the UK that pre-date this version, would seem to suggest that this version originated in America, although the apparently American word 'Holler' was first recorded in written form in the fourteenth century, whereas the words 'Niger' or 'Nigger' were first seen in the sixteenth century in Britain, with their current disparaging meaning (O.E.D.). The 'olla' and 'toe' are found as nonsense words in some nineteenth century versions of the rhyme, and it could possibly be that the original 'Where do all the Frenchmen Go?' (probably originating during one of the periods of Anglo-French warfare) was later on replaced by the controversial version in the States, using some of the nonsense words.
Many people who grew up before the late 1960s are likely to report having heard or grown up with this controversial version of the rhyme. Since then, and especially after the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
, this variation has become quite rare in the U.S, although it was used in television programs broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC as late as 1972 (see Television listing in Popular Culture, below).
Variations
There are considerable variations in the lyrics of the rhyme, including from early twentieth century in the United States of America:- Eeny, meeny, miny moe,
- Catch a tiger by the toe.
- If he hollers make him pay,
- Fifty dollars every day.
A distinct version of the rhyme in the United Kingdom, collected in the 1960s, is:
- Eeeny, meeny, miney, mo.
- Put the baby on the po.
- When he's done,
- Wipe his bum.
- And tell his mother what he's done.
Lawsuit in the United States
A jocular use of a form of the rhyme by a Southwest AirlinesSouthwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
flight attendant
Flight attendant
Flight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...
, encouraging passengers to sit down so the plane could take off, led to a 2003 lawsuit charging the airline with racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. Two versions of the rhyme were attested in court; both "Eeny meeny miny mo, Please sit down it's time to go" and "Pick a seat, it's time to go". The passengers in question were black people
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
and stated that they were humiliated.
Popular culture
There are innumerable scenes in books, films, plays, cartoons and video games, as well as lines from many songs, in which "Eeny meeny ..." or a variant is used by a character who is making a choice, either for serious or comic effect.The phrase sometimes appears in other ways, including:
Music
- "Eeny Meeny Miney Mo" was a popular song written in 1935 by Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
and Matty MalneckMatty MalneckMatty Malneck was an American jazz violinist, violist and songwriter.Malneck's first professional gigs as a violinist began when he was age 16. He worked with Paul Whiteman from 1926 to 1937, and also recorded in the same period with Frank Signorelli, Frankie Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke, and...
. - "Organ Grinder's Swing" was a hit in the 1930s for Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, who sang "eenie meenie miny moe, catch that monkey by the toe...". - The vinyl release of RadioheadRadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
's album OK ComputerOK ComputerOK Computer is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 16 June 1997 on Parlophone in the UK and 1 July 1997 by Capitol Records in the US. It marks a deliberate attempt by the band to move away from the introspective guitar-oriented sound of their previous...
(1997) uses the words "eeny meeny miny moe" (rather than letter or numbers) on the labels of Sides A, B, C and D respectively. - "Eenie Meenie" was a hit in 2010 for Justin BieberJustin BieberJustin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
and Sean KingstonSean KingstonSean Kingston is a Jamaican-American singer. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with the album Sean Kingston.-Early life:...
.
Literature
- The title of Chester HimesChester HimesChester Bomar Himes was an American writer. His works include If He Hollers Let Him Go and a series of Harlem Detective novels...
's novel If He Hollers Let Him GoIf He Hollers Let Him GoIf He Hollers Let Him Go is a novel by Chester Himes, published in 1945, about an African American shipyard worker in Los Angeles during World War II. A 1968 film adaptation with Raymond St. Jacques, Barbara McNair, Kevin McCarthy, and Arthur O'Connell bore little resemblance to the book.The story...
(1945) refers to the rhyme. - In Salman Rushdie's The Moor's Last SighThe Moor's Last SighThe Moor's Last Sigh is the fifth novel by Salman Rushdie, and was published in 1995. Set in the Indian cities of Bombay and Cochin , it is the first major work that Rushdie produced after the The Satanic Verses affair, and thus is referential to that circumstance in many ways, especially the...
(1995), the leading character and his three sisters are nicknamed Ina, Minnie, Mynah and Moor.
Film
- In the 1930s, animation producer Walter LantzWalter LantzWalter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, film producer, and director, best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.-Early years and start in animation:...
introduced the cartoon characters Meany, Miney and Mo (later Meeny, Miney and Mo). First appearing in Oswald Rabbit cartoons, then in their own series, the trio were semi-humanized chimpanzees; clothed, living in a funny animalFunny animalFunny animal is a cartooning term for the genre of comics and animated cartoons in which the main characters are humanoid or talking animals, with anthropomorphic personality traits. The characters themselves may also be called funny animals...
world but rarely speaking understandable words. Later, in the comics, the trio spoke English with the inflections of the Three StoogesThree StoogesThe Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
. - The rhyme appears towards the end of 19491949 in filmThe year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
EnglishCinema of the United KingdomThe United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
black comedyBlack comedyA black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
, Kind Hearts and CoronetsKind Hearts and CoronetsKind Hearts and Coronets is a 1949 British black comedy feature film. The plot is loosely based on the 1907 novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman, with the screenplay written by Robert Hamer and John Dighton and the film directed by Hamer...
. The use of the word nigger was censoredCensorshipthumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
for the American market. - The 1957 BollywoodBollywoodBollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
hit AshaAasha (1957 film)Aasha, also transliterated as Asha, was a 1957 Hindi film. The film became a box office hit.- Plot :The story tells about Kishore who is good-hearted person and always helps poor people even though he is from Zamindar family. Then he travels to Bombay to stay with his cousin Raj who cheats lots of...
uses an Indian variant as the basis for the song "Eena Meena Deeka". - The rhyme has been used by killers to choose victims in several films, including the 1994 films Pulp FictionPulp Fiction (film)Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
and Natural Born KillersNatural Born KillersNatural Born Killers is a 1994 crime/black comedy film directed by Oliver Stone about two victims of traumatic childhoods who became lovers and psychopathic serial killers, and are irresponsibly glorified by the mass media...
; the 1997 film Funny Games and its 2008 remake; and the 2003 film Elephant. - In the 2000 Coen brothers film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", the rhyme was sung by members of the Ku Klux KlanKu Klux KlanKu Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. The only words used were, "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe."
Television
- In the second episode of the four-part Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
story The Celestial ToymakerThe Celestial ToymakerThe Celestial Toymaker is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 2 April to 23 April 1966.-Plot:...
, "The Hall of Dolls" (originally transmitted 9 April 1966), the King of Hearts recites the "nigger" version to choose among seven chairs – six of which are deadly. On BBC Audio’s CD release, the offending section has been obscured by placing part of Peter Purves's narration over the top. - In the Dad's ArmyDad's ArmyDad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
episode "Keep Young and Beautiful" (originally transmitted 13 October 1972), Frazer, Pike, Walker and Godfrey need a volunteer to go into the church hall office to have a look at Captain Mainwaring's new toupee. Pike recites the "nigger" version, and Walker gets the 'moe'. However, Walker continues the chant – "O-U-T spells out, you must go" – so Pike ends up being 'it' instead.
Video Games
- In Phoenix Wright: Justice For All, two sisters are named Ini Miney and Mimi Miney. In the same game, there is also a clown named Moe.