# Question about Nursery Rhyme This Little Piggy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [October 10, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026 "2022-10-10T18:18:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/1 "2022-10-10T18:18:54Z")
What does _Piggy went to the market mean to you?_ _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/1))_ ## “This Little Piggy” Lyrics This little piggy went to the market, This little piggy stayed home, This little piggy had roast beef, This little piggy had none, And this little piggy cried wee wee wee all the way home. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/2 "2022-10-10T18:23:14Z")
I hate to admit that I thought Piggy had a great time shopping at the market. The other meaning didn’t occur to me until college. I had a course that covered the dark history of many Nursery Rhymes and stories. Hansel and Gretel. Is very dark. > [@](#): > > The [cannibalistic](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_cannibalism) witch intends to fatten Hansel before eventually eating him, but Gretel pushes the witch in her own oven and kills her. The two children then escape with their lives and return home with the witch’s treasure. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/3 "2022-10-10T18:27:29Z")
I voted for “Piggy went shopping” because that’s what I thought my whole life until I learned otherwise here. I always felt bad for the piggy that had none. Now I know my sympathy was misplaced. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/4 "2022-10-10T18:30:34Z")
It is a fun story to tell children. I would never ruin it for the kids by mentioning the darker meaning. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/5 "2022-10-10T18:33:40Z")
“If the train should jump the track, do you want your money back?” Ummm, yeah, just add it to my estate. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/6 "2022-10-10T19:00:10Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > I voted for “Piggy went shopping” because that’s what I thought my whole life until I learned otherwise here Frankly, we’ve always used “went shopping” when playing that nursery rhyme game with our children and now grandchildren. It scans just as well and has no ambiguity. (Americans idiomatically don’t “go to market”.) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/7 "2022-10-10T19:00:27Z")
I want to know who is feeding their pigs roast beef. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/8 "2022-10-10T19:49:53Z")
Pigs get fed all kinds of scraps. I’m sure there are farmers who’ve really fed their pigs roast beef rather than just throw it away. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/9 "2022-10-10T22:05:59Z")
This is what they’re feasting on in Ukraine these days: > **[The unusual relationship between Pigs and Russian soldiers. Grisly video...](https://truthaboutrussia.quora.com/The-unusual-relationship-between-Pigs-and-Russian-soldiers-Grisly-video-shows-pigs-gorging-and-devouring-on-what-appea?ch=10&oid=84427223&share=f5c2b562&srid=hMMvjR&target_type=post)** > > The unusual relationship between Pigs and Russian soldiers. > > Grisly video shows pigs gorging and devouring on what appears to be the body of a man described as a Russian army captain 👇🏻 > > \_ > > Russian troops found comfort in setting up their barracks in... ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/10 "2022-10-10T22:48:54Z")
Went shopping. I don’t know what the “original intent” was but, last time this came up, I found picture books and illustrated versions of the poem with the pigs going shopping dating at least as far back at the mid 1800s. So I figure 150+ years of pigs buying groceries is good enough to call it a valid popular interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/11 "2022-10-10T23:01:15Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I don’t know what the “original intent” was but, last time this came up, I found picture books and illustrated versions of the poem with the pigs going shopping dating at least as far back at the mid 1800s. Same here, when I was a kid the books we had that had this nursery rhyme showed a pig going shopping. A pig trussed up with an apple in its mouth would have been kind of cool though. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/12 "2022-10-10T23:03:10Z")
Old illustrated books are a good source for how people understood the material. Maybe going to market did mean shopping . ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/13 "2022-10-10T23:05:00Z")
I dismiss the idea that the first line means that the pig was butchered. The other lines suggest that they’re five little piggies doing mostly human-type stuff. Though line three, I believe, was originally roast meat, so… For line one, I picture a bipedal pig with a pocketbook and a yellow dress walking down the street to the market. The image may have come from a picturebook. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/14 "2022-10-10T23:54:39Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > I picture a bipedal pig with a pocketbook and a yellow dress walking down the street to the market. The image may have come from a picturebook. Totally agree. Shopping, not butchered: [![](https://www.grandmasnurseryrhymes.com/images/This-Little-Piggy.jpg) ](https://www.grandmasnurseryrhymes.com/images/This-Little-Piggy.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/15 "2022-10-10T23:58:38Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > when I was a kid the books we had that had this nursery rhyme showed a pig going shopping. Me too. Probably influenced my vote. And I go to market now with some regularity; though I’m selling at a farmers’ market, and would probably say ‘going shopping’ if I were just going to the store(s). I think the phrase probably came from times when people went to their village on market day, on which various people brought their wares to market. We’re used to 24/7 supermarkets now; but in a lot of places people didn’t use to shop every day, or just whatever day pleased them. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/16 "2022-10-11T00:32:09Z")
As far as I can tell, the whole “they’re being butchered” thing came out of nowhere. Just one of those made up “did you know” facts that get shared on social media. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/17 "2022-10-11T00:51:33Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Just one of those made up “did you know” facts that get shared on social media. A duck’s quack never echoes. Nobody knows why. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/18 "2022-10-11T01:04:41Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > As far as I can tell, the whole “they’re being butchered” thing came out of nowhere. Just one of those made up “did you know” facts that get shared on social media. That was my first reaction as well (see: “Ring Around the Rosie”). ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/19 "2022-10-11T02:06:44Z")
I think the mystery can be unraveled by analyzing the 5th line of the first recorded version of the rhyme in 1728 [according to [wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Little_Piggy)]: _This pig went to market,_ _That pig stayed home;_ _This pig had roast meat,_ _That pig had none;_ _ **This pig went to the barn’s door,** _ _And cried week, week for more._ _ **This pig went to the barn’s door** _. What the heck does that mean? _Going to the barn’s door_ doesn’t appear to be a saying of some sort. But, it does make the nursery rhyme sound more ominous. So, my vote is for “pork chops.” ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026/20 "2022-10-11T03:25:22Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > _ **This pig went to the barn’s door,** _ > _And cried week, week for more._ Reads to me that the pig went to the door of the barn and cried for more food. Anybody who’s around a farm at feeding time would hear animals in or around the barn calling to be fed. If they’re not penned in a particular stall, but loose in the barn, they might well be calling at the barn door; and if they’re outside but their food’s stored in the barn and brought out from there, again they’d call at the barn door. Doesn’t sound ominous to me. “Week, week” might be an imitation of one of the noises a young pig might make. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-nursery-rhyme-this-little-piggy/973026.md?page=2)