# "Run in circles, scream and shout" - from where? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 10, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-from-where/467313 "2008-10-10T13:51:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-from-where/467313/21 "2015-11-30T06:01:27Z")
With this zombie apparently being allowed to live afresh: I’m wondering whether the discussed item of “wise advice” might have been inspired by the first verse of a much-liked hymn, written in the early nineteenth century – Oft in danger, oft in woe, Onward, Christians, onward go: Bear the toil, maintain the strife, Strengthened by the Bread of Life. PPs mention the “When in [fill in the blank – sometimes ‘danger’] or in doubt” verse, as being often associated with the US Navy. This strikes something of a chord: the British military, certainly, used to be very fond of parodying well-known hymns, in reference to their non-religious experiences / trials / tribulations. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-from-where/467313/22 "2015-11-30T16:31:26Z")
Google Books has added millions more entries since 1908, so I figured there might be earlier hits. Yep. A letter in the June 1911 issue of Motorboating magazine has this: > [@](#): > > When in danger or in doubt > Always keep a good lookout > If you have no room to turn > Stop her, back her, go astern He calls it an “old adage.” Popular Aviation, Nov. 1928, adapts it for pilots: > [@](#): > > When in danger or in doubt > Nose her down and kick her out It’s easy to see how this would be parodied. The origin of the phrase may be in Psalm 62: > [@](#): > > Trust him to guide us when in doubt, protect us when in danger, supply us when in want. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-from-where/467313/23 "2015-11-30T16:39:44Z")
Those aren’t examples of the phrase, though. “Do something prudent when worried” is completely different advice from “panic when worried”. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-from-where/467313/24 "2015-11-30T17:33:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Those aren’t examples of the phrase, though. “Do something prudent when worried” is completely different advice from “panic when worried”. This is the verse that the mocking version is parodying. If it’s an old adage in 1911, then it’s likely that a parody existed that didn’t get into print. Knowing the original helps to understand the parody. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-from-where/467313/25 "2015-11-30T18:02:22Z")
The management-coaching version I’m familiar with is “When you don’t know what to do, walk fast and look worried.” ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-from-where/467313/26 "2015-12-01T18:43:54Z")
I always thought the rhyme was: _When in doubt, scream and shout, Wave your arms and run about!_ I associate this too with the Dilbert collection “Our disaster plan goes something like this: Help, help!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-from-where/467313.md?page=1)