>In the canonical Eeny Meeny, “tiger” is standard in the second line, but this is a relatively recent revision. I'm old enough that as a young child I heard ad

>In the canonical Eeny Meeny, “tiger” is standard in the second line, but this is a relatively recent revision. I'm old enough that as a young child I heard adults reciting both versions (U.S. urban location). Since this is about "ambiguous history", I noticed that it seems none of the other languages have versions that are as explicitly derogatory/racist as the original English version. >The shared genetics of all these counting-out ditties strongly imply an ür-Eeny Meeny. And several folklorists have proposed various etymologies based on the content of some versions of Eeny Meeny, trying to derive significance from some variation of the gibberish. These prehistories range from charmingly whimsical to patently bogus. I wonder how often it happens that the leaders of any society imbue secondary messages into these counting-out rhymes as a way of indoctrinating the children? [edit] I just re-read the following, which elaborates on this idea: >The original “Catch a n*** by the toe,” according to Bickerton, points to the rhyme’s roots in an African American community.