# Airline sued for "eeny meenie miney mo" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 11, 2003, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352 "2003-02-11T15:10:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/81 "2003-02-11T23:28:27Z")
> [@](#): > > “Fee Fi Fo Fum, > Find a place for your bum.” > > Of course, this will only be used after it’s been ascertained that there are no giants, Englishmen, men named Jack (or women named Jackie), people with a highly pronounced sense of smell, and no hemophiliacs aboard. As a baker I’m insulted by your neglecting to mention us as a group and thus implying that we do want to grind your bones to make our bread. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/82 "2003-02-11T23:37:03Z")
I always say “the pot calling the kettle a pot.” I have no idea why. I understood the expression to mean that one person was pointing out a characteristic they’d noticed in another person when they had the SAME characteristic and never noticed it in themselves. And among Scots, “Jimmy” is interchangeable with “buddy” or “pal.” Um. Nope, that was it. I have nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/83 "2003-02-11T23:37:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Just Some Guy \* > \*\*As a baker I’m insulted by your neglecting to mention us as a group and thus implying that we do want to grind your bones to make our bread. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer. \*\* Uh-oh. I’ll probably have homeless people after me as well for the use of the word “bum”. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/84 "2003-02-11T23:44:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by D\_Odds \* > **Perhaps, however, we should use “the rose calling the carnation red” (assuming both were red).** Fine. Bring communism into it. ---
**Author:** ![sperfur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9adbd/32.png) [@sperfur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sperfur)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/85 "2003-02-11T23:57:30Z")
**Sauron** , I’m sold. From now on, its the pot calling the kettle Shirley. I like that much better. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/86 "2003-02-12T00:05:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by auntie em \* > \*\*OK, apparently my sarcasm is not coming through, here. So for the record, I agree (wholeheartedly) that the lawsuit is ridiculous, and I know that tigers don’t come from Africa; I was just being silly. > > And here I thought that being Black would give me natural comic ability . . . 😃 > > Upon preview, I see I owe some thanks to **Biggirl**. . . \*\* Oh I don’t know auntie em, I got your gist just fine. One of the ladies in the article said the little ditty made her feel as if she were “too dumb to pick a seat or something”. I would say “well…Yeah!!” sit down already, and it has NOTHING to do with your color, but the fact that you got on the plane late, then poked along and took your sweet assed time after everyone ELSE was seated and ready. Sheesh, some people. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/87 "2003-02-12T00:09:05Z")
Oh, and I never heard the tiger OR the N\_\_\_ version, our version was catch a ROOSTER by his toe. Hey!! Don’t ask me, we were kids for crying out loud!! Maybe our parents thought that rooster was closer to home, since we had a hen house? ---
**Author:** ![Demise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@Demise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demise)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/88 "2003-02-12T00:09:12Z")
Born and raised in Texas. Never heard any version besides “tiger” before reading this thread. Plaintiffs should be summarily executed. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/89 "2003-02-12T00:42:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sperfur \* > **So, yeah, I think ‘the pot calling the kettle black’ really is insulting. I also think changing the offensive term points this out in a lighthearted way. Perhaps I’m wrong. Anyone else offended by this phrase?** If you wish to find it insulting I guess you have every right to do so… but I thought the idea here was to be fighting ignorance. 😉 Do you also “Call a _digging implement_ a _digging implement_”? 🙂 (Another elderly phrase that has nothing to do with later perjorative uses of the same word). I don’t mean this personally **sperfur** , just a little hobby-horse of mine. As to the OP – yep, the N-version was what I remember from primary school (New Zealand, early-mid 70’s), and like **mhendo** wrote above, it may be because NZ had at the time very, very few african people and the term wasn’t (in my memory at least) ever applied to the Maori (native NZers) so it had no weight or real meaning to us. (We also used to say “Injun”). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/90 "2003-02-12T00:53:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spooje \* > **Minty**? **Bricker**? Don’t look at me, man. I have no idea how this one ever got near a trial. Unless I’m missing something, the judge just fucked it up. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/91 "2003-02-12T01:04:03Z")
> [@](#): > > I also sometimes say ‘that’s like the pot calling the kettle a cooking utensil’. I consider it ‘updating’ the phrase, since I hear people use the term ‘black’ and don’t even realize what that means. I know exactly what black means, thank you very much. But I’m not, I repeat NOT going to change this idiom. It’s origins were not as a racial slur, and I will not stand idly by while the English Language becomes Pussified by Political Correctness. ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/92 "2003-02-12T01:40:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\*I grew up in Australia, and the version i remeber from my youth is the “nigger” version. \*\* Could be a regional or generational thing then, because I’ve grown up in Australia too, and I only knew the ‘tiger’ version before reading this thread. ---
**Author:** ![sperfur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9adbd/32.png) [@sperfur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sperfur)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/93 "2003-02-12T02:21:34Z")
Actually, I think the English language has already become ‘Pussified by Political Correctness’. We’ve all stood by and let it happen - the lawsuit that began this discussion is just a continuation of something that started long ago. As it was, I changed the phrase 'cuz I didn’t like the old one. (I’ve already told you why.) I like the new one Sauron suggested even better, so I’ll be using that from now on. As for the ‘call a spade a spade’ phrase, its not one I’ve ever used. Not due to political correctness - I just don’t like it. FTR, I’m not suggesting anyone change their idioms. Say whatever you like. I promise not to sue you. 🙂 However, when I hear someone say ‘pot calling the kettle black’ or some other phrases that just ‘roll off the tounge’, I wince. To you, it doesn’t mean anything offensive. To me, it does. It could be because of the politically charged atmosphere where I work. For instance, a coworker’s father was fired for saying ‘sometimes you have to put a gun to their head to get them to…’. A person I used to work with was suspended for five days for using the phrase ‘I’m free, white and 21’. I work in HR. I see this crap crossing my desk. I’m not about to let it happen to me. Thus endeth the explanation. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/94 "2003-02-12T02:35:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by This Year’s Model \* > \*\*So, am I the only one who learned the “n” version? \*\* Not really. I grew up with “tiger” in the early 1970s. It wasn’t until about 13 or 14 years ago, when I was first exposed to people my age (Gen Xers) who were born and raised in the South, that a “n\_\_\_\_r” version existed. Southern peers tell me they grew up with the “n” version, as well as racist versions of many other childhood calls and nursery rhymes. ---
**Author:** ![tmwster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/57b2e6/32.png) [@tmwster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tmwster)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/95 "2003-02-12T02:44:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zebra \* > \*\*I learned both the tiger and the nigger versions as a kid. > > Things I also learned as a kid > > Nigger Knocking ringing someone’s doorbell and running away. (sort of a form of prank phone calls) > > Nigger rig AKA Jury rig to ‘fix’ something (usually a car) in a non-standard fashion. Like useing bailing wire and duct tape to affix your alternator to the engin.\*\* Yup, learned all these same phrases in childhood, and many others that don’t bear repeating. However, since I also learned alternative and less offensive versions of all these phrases at the same time, I guess I’ve always assumed that the less offensive versions were the original, and the rascist versions were sort of made up and referred to in whispers, similar to other mysterious and dirty words, like “butt” and “fart.” Which I guess they were, in a way, to a child who had no intellectual comprehension of rascism. Most of them I had forgotten until now. I certainly wouldn’t have automatically associated the “eenie meenie” poem with rascist intent. For some reason, that rhyme has always reminded me of the Three Stooges, since I associated “moe” with Moe, Larry, and Curly/Shemp. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/96 "2003-02-12T02:47:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by This Year’s Model \* > \*\*So, am I the only one who learned the “n” version? \*\* No, but apparently I’m the only one who learned the “rabbit” version. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/97 "2003-02-12T03:13:35Z")
Am I the only one here that is grateful that I don’t fly on Southwest Airlines? Nursery rhymes & jingles? Jesus H. Christ. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/98 "2003-02-12T03:33:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Juniper200 \* > \*\*Max: I heard that usage from my mom’s relatives in southwest Indiana, so I think it’s used by dipshits everywhere. \*\* Actually I don’t remember where I first heard that particular slang for brazil nuts. if I had to put money on it I’d say it was from my grandmother’s racist fuck third husband, who thought nothing of teaching his 6 and 8 year-old grandchildren songs about monkeys with no tails and the like. My mother tells stories now of things he used to say and do which would just make her seethe with rage but she kept quiet for fear of poisoning our relationship with him. She’s bitter and angry to this day that he is the only person my brother and I ever knew as “grandpa.” ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/99 "2003-02-12T08:57:28Z")
Another tiger-catcher here, grew up in Boston in the 70’s. The first time I ever heard the ‘nigger’ version was at a family dinner where we were talking with some of the elder Lights about how childhood chants had changed. They liked the ‘tiger’ version better, but it cleared up some confusion I’d had as to how a tiger can “holler”. We also used potatoes and bubblegum, as well as this one that nobody’s mentioned yet: My mother and your mother, hanging out the clothes. My mother punched your mother right in the nose. What color was the blood? (ex: “green”) G-R-E-E-N spells Green and you are out. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/100 "2003-02-12T08:59:11Z")
Almost forgot: we also used ‘nickel’ in place of ‘tiger’. It made even less sense, but we were more interested in getting turns sorted out than discussing semantics. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352.md?page=6)