# "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:** 19\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![MiserMike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@MiserMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MiserMike)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/141 "2004-02-13T13:46:04Z")
I’m 58, grew up in a small Wisconsin town between Milwaukee and Chicago, and it was always “nigger.” Never heard the kinder gentler versions until late in life. And nobody would have known what I was talking about had I referred to “Brazil nuts.” they were universally called “nigger toes” when we’d get the annual Christmas treat of a few mixed nuts. (Spare me any clever puns.) ---
**Author:** ![MiserMike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@MiserMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MiserMike)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/142 "2004-02-13T13:50:19Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > “Nigger”. Age 43 raised in West Bend, Wisconsin. Nobody ever corrected us either. I expicitly remember saying it in front of teachers in grade school. Until in 3rd grade the teacher rounded us all up an announced that the principal didn’t want anyone using that word any more. We didn’t even know it was a bad word, to tell you the truth. Nobody ever told us. > There weren’t any black kids in school. In fact, I don’t believe there were any blacks living in the entire town. The first time I saw a black person in the flesh I was in 6th grade and at summer camp. > My childhood there was much like growing up on “Leave it to Beaver”, so that should explain a lot. Very white, middle class, conservative town. Essentially the same as my somewhat earlier experience in Burlington. Even the nuns never corrected it. ---
**Author:** ![Maxxxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@Maxxxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maxxxie)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/143 "2004-02-14T00:40:19Z")
Nigger ☹ I’m 30, from Brisbane in Australia. We used this routinely when I was a kid. I don’t think any of us a) knew what it meant, or even if we had, b) known that it was a derogatory term. I certainly never associated it with black people. The native people of Australia were referred to by such delightful terms as boong, coon, darkie, blackfella etc etc ad nauseum. As an adult, I heard it as “tiger”. This was from watching some american show on TV. Max. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/144 "2004-02-14T04:37:17Z")
I learned tiger from Mother Goose and “Nigger” from the playground a few years later. I heard the term “nigger toes” used for the first time yesterday and was appalled. Dr\_P, Ontario. ---
**Author:** ![chrisn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@chrisn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/145 "2004-02-14T04:51:13Z")
Tigger, here. Like others, I’d never heard of any other version until the SW suit. 33, Scarborough, Ontario ---
**Author:** ![myrnajean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@myrnajean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myrnajean)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/146 "2004-02-14T04:52:35Z")
I’m 40, born and raised in Chicago, and we always said “nigger”. At the time, I never even thought about it. I didn’t realize it was a racial slur. We, being Puerto Ricans, were the minority in our neighborhood. When I was married, after several years (I was about 26) I purchased what I thought were niggertoes, in the grocery store. I was like “Oh honey, you have to try these, these were my ma’s favorites, niggertoes!!” He just looked at me, eh? “Niggertoes??, Those are BRAZIL NUTS!” By the way, my husband was black. ---
**Author:** ![leafrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@leafrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leafrog)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/147 "2004-02-14T04:52:37Z")
I originally learned it with the n word, but I recall my parents wising up and telling us kids to change it to tiger. 36, raised in Eugene, Oregon ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/148 "2004-02-14T08:13:07Z")
I’m 61. I grew up in San Gabriel, California. There it was always “nigger,” but I never made the connection until my mother heard me repeating it that way. She was horrified, and explained to me what it meant and why it was wrong. This was the era of restrictive covenants in real estate contracts (now, thankfully, illegal), so I guess it was no surprise that the neighborhood kids would have heard it that way. I honestly don’t think any of them was any more aware of what the word meant at that time than I was. It was just a nonsense sound to fill in a rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/149 "2004-02-14T22:35:10Z")
Tiger. I’m 38 and grew up in Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![nomisunrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nomisunrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nomisunrider)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/150 "2004-02-15T03:25:02Z")
I’ve always heard Tiger. I grew up in Westchester, in the burbs’ of NYC. I went to a private jewish school until 9th grade. My boyfriend has also only heard tiger, but he went to public school. We are both 18. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/151 "2004-02-15T04:08:40Z")
Tiger. 46, Cleveland suburbs (westside). Never heard the “n” version til the Southwest story ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/152 "2004-02-15T23:22:01Z")
> [@Aro](#): > > Plus, _“squeals”_ was probably added as a colloquialism instead of “hollers”, which no one here says. “Squeals” here as well. I must have been in my late teens before I even was aware of the word “holler” and the only people I have ever heard say it in conversation were Americans. Anyway, also “nigger” here. By the time I became aware that the word was, well, bad I had stopped using the rhyme. I have no idea what kids around where I came from say these days. It is a pity really as “squeals” works far better with “tigger”, “tiger” etc than “hollers”. White, 29, grew up in small town Warwickshire, England. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/153 "2004-02-16T00:04:54Z")
Tiger, 22, Near Chattanooga, TN ---
**Author:** ![King\_Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@King\_Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Friday)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/154 "2004-02-16T05:38:53Z")
Tiger. Catonsville, Md. Incidently, I have yet to hear him “holler”, but I let him go anyway. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/155 "2004-02-16T07:16:48Z")
“nigger” Age 65, born in Dayton, OH, then moved to Atlanta, GA at age 9. Never used anything else, until my children started using a different version. The only other word I’ve heard used is “rooster” and there is only one other mention of that so far. I always knew that “nigger toes” was another name for Brazil nuts but didn’t call them that. ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/156 "2004-02-16T12:21:43Z")
28, South west England. Tinker, monkey and more rarely tiger. I think I knew there was a nigger version - I probably read it in an old book. For choosing teams we used “Ip dip, Sky blue Who’s it? Not you” or the variant: “Ip dip, Dog shit You stepped In it” or good old “one potato two potato” ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/157 "2004-02-16T16:34:17Z")
37, SW Ohio Eenie meenie miney moe Catch a (nigger/tiger) by its toe When he hollers, let him go Eenie meenie miney moe My mother told me to pick the very best one and You are not it, you dirty, dirty dishrag you. I have no earthly idea where the dirty dishrag came in. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/158 "2004-02-16T19:05:51Z")
Born in NJ in 1968, raised in Chicago suburb. I never head anything but “tiger” until joining the SDMB, but then I grew up in a rather PC kind of place. Never heard Brazil nuts called anything else until reading this thread. ---
**Author:** ![zoltar7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b38774/32.png) [@zoltar7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoltar7)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549/159 "2004-02-16T19:58:43Z")
39, NW WA. Growing up, I always heard “nigger”, although I don’t remember ever saying that around my parents. I first heard the “tiger” version about ten years ago from friends’ kids. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catch-a-by-the-toe-a-survey/228549.md?page=7)