# origin of "Polly want a cracker"?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-polly-want-a-cracker/476171
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 7, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-polly-want-a-cracker/476171 "2008-12-07T22:09:26Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 2

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### Author: ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-polly-want-a-cracker/476171/21 "2010-11-06T13:17:37Z")

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> [@samclem](#):
>
> Nothing. It was extremely common for magazines to have filler, including short jokes. I have no doubt you could have found the same joke as filler in many magazines from the turn of the century.

Then in what sense are “jacks becoming cheap” ?

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### Author: ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-polly-want-a-cracker/476171/22 "2010-11-06T15:52:30Z")

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> [@Peter\_Morris](#):
>
> Then in what sense are “jacks becoming cheap” ?

“Jack-in-the-pulpit” is a kind of flower, but I don’t know if you’d commonly find them at a florist.

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