# "Catch a ??? by the toe." A survey. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 11, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549 "2004-02-11T00:28:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/21 "2004-02-11T01:21:25Z")
I was taught ‘tiger’ and ‘monkey’, but picked up ‘n…’ in grade school. Polack jokes were prevalent, too. I’m 42, and grew up in NE Indiana. ---
**Author:** ![angelicate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@angelicate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/angelicate)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/22 "2004-02-11T01:25:38Z")
24, raised in South Texas. We said “tiger” and I never heard any other version until the whole Southwest Airlines/Eeny, meeny… topic was brought up on this board. ---
**Author:** ![boofy\_bloke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@boofy\_bloke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boofy_bloke)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/23 "2004-02-11T01:33:59Z")
nigger, 38, Gisborne, New Zealand ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/24 "2004-02-11T01:34:35Z")
Tiger always when I was a kid. 22 Tennessee I never heard the “nigger” version until the Southwest Airlines flap. -Lil ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/25 "2004-02-11T01:38:34Z")
Tiger. 30, California, never heard the old version until I read it as an adult. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/26 "2004-02-11T01:43:45Z")
Another “tiger” here. 33, Chicago suburbs. The only other variation I remember encountering was “Indian” in a children’s book (I _think_ it was a Mary Poppins book). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/27 "2004-02-11T01:44:28Z")
Tiger. 26 MA/NH. I’ve known about the “n” version for a long time though, since my parents told me when I was a teenager that they were glad that it had changed to tiger by the time I was born. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/28 "2004-02-11T01:53:51Z")
Tiger, 35, rural NE Illinois. The only exposure to blacks any of us had on a daily basis was seeing them on TV. ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/29 "2004-02-11T01:53:53Z")
19, grew up in southestern Wisconsin, tiger. Didn’t even know there were other versions for a very long time. ---
**Author:** ![peasea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc79bd/32.png) [@peasea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peasea)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/30 "2004-02-11T02:05:10Z")
27, North Florida (yes, that _is_ part of the South). Tiger. Didn’t know differently until the SW Air thing. Even though I heard the ‘n’ version in Pulp Fiction, I thought it was made up for the movie to underscore the bigotry of the character speaking it. ---
**Author:** ![Palikia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@Palikia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palikia)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/31 "2004-02-11T02:08:21Z")
“Nigger” Age 61, grew up in Wichita KS. I have a very vivid memory of using the “n” word in kindergarten and being soundly scolded by the teacher for referring to a black classmate by that term, yet for many years after that it was OK to continue using “nigger” in the rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/32 "2004-02-11T02:09:20Z")
46, the midwest, the “n” word, followed by “tiger” when I learned from my mom that the former was inappropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/33 "2004-02-11T02:12:42Z")
Both “nigger” and “tiger”. 34. Erie, PA ---
**Author:** ![Zap\_Rowsdower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3da27b/32.png) [@Zap\_Rowsdower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zap_Rowsdower)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/34 "2004-02-11T02:53:05Z")
Tiger, 38 Texas. didn’t hear it with ‘nigger’ until I was in grade school. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/35 "2004-02-11T02:59:36Z")
Tiger, never heard anything else. 30, Chattanooga, TN ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/36 "2004-02-11T03:03:44Z")
“Possum” or “nigger,” depending upon the company. 43, Assboink, SC ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/37 "2004-02-11T03:04:28Z")
59, raised between Southern VA and Northern VA. “nigger” when in the company of playmates, not so when my mom was involved. I THINK she used tiger. ---
**Author:** ![Marvel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marvel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvel)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/38 "2004-02-11T03:08:59Z")
SLight hijack of my own thread here…what happened with Southwest Airlines and “Eeny Meeny?” Did an employee use the N-word version for some reason? What were the circumstances? What was the outcome? Patty ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/39 "2004-02-11T03:09:18Z")
I always said ‘nigger’. I had no idea what it meant at the time, we were just dumb kids. It wasn’t until my teens that I made the connection, and I at last understood why it was written with using other things to catch. For choosing teams and whatnot, we used ‘one potato, two potato’ and I think some other one that I can’t at this moment recall. Oh yeah, it was “Ink, pink, you, stink.” Dunedin, New Zealand, 34 ---
**Author:** ![mrsface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@mrsface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrsface)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/40 "2004-02-11T03:29:03Z")
44, UK When I was very young (early to mid 1960s), it was always ‘nigger’, though even then I can remember a feeling that there was something peculiar about the word, without understanding what. Somewhere around the late 60s, it changed to ‘tigger’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549.md?page=3)