# Shave and a Haircut - Two Bits! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2002, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits/145274 "2002-12-28T01:29:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits/145274/1 "2002-12-28T01:29:09Z")
Where did this haunting tune (and knocking rhythym) come from, such as when knocking on a door? How is it so well known? - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits/145274/2 "2002-12-28T01:41:08Z")
Here’s a [discussion on the rhythm](http://www.wordwizard.com/clubhouse/founddiscuss.asp?Num=3157) which might help. ---
**Author:** ![Splanky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Splanky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Splanky)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits/145274/3 "2002-12-28T01:48:25Z")
That litte bit from the Roger Rabbit movie gave me nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits/145274/4 "2002-12-28T02:03:11Z")
Previous thread which might help [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=53554&highlight=shave+haircut](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=53554&highlight=shave+haircut) Cecil perhaps covered in one of his books. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits/145274/5 "2002-12-28T06:11:56Z")
Any reason why the ditty is supposedly the most offensive thing you could do around someone of Hispanic origin? When I lived in New Mexico, I was often told “never knock ‘Shave and a Haircut’ when there’s Mexicans around, even if it’s unintentional.” The only explanation I got was that I sounded similar to the cadance used when you say “chinga tu madre.” If that was the case, though, then why isn’t knocking twice offensive to Anglophones, since it each knock could be a syllable in the phrase “fuck you?” ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits/145274/6 "2002-12-28T13:16:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elmwood \* > \*\*sounded similar to the cadance used when you say “chinga tu madre.” \*\* For all you non-Spanish speakers, that means “Yessir, Boss.” (I used to work with Puerto Ricans, and that’s what they’d always say when I told 'em to do something.) ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits/145274/7 "2002-12-28T14:42:58Z")
Then I can understand their disquiet in hearing that rhythm. The subservient thing, and all that. Everyone deserves a little dignity. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits/145274/8 "2002-12-28T17:52:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DAVEW0071 \* > \*\*Then I can understand their disquiet in hearing that rhythm. The subservient thing, and all that. > > Everyone deserves a little dignity. \*\* Couldn’t every rhythm be interpreted as saying thousands of things in any language? How about; This means nothing, at all! My nose itches, please scratch! Rain on Tuesdays, wet ground! Cat breath smells like, cat food! What makes it such an obvious reference to subservience? ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits/145274/9 "2002-12-28T18:07:01Z")
My ex-roommate had gotten pretty good at Spanish, having spent about a year in South and Central America. He then once asked a Mex-American friend about the Shave-and-a-Haircut rhythm, after he forgot and used it to knock on the friend’s door. The mother of the house rushed to the door to see who the low-class hooligan was. All the friend would tell him was, “You don’t really want to know”. He decided that then he probably really didn’t. He still doesn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits/145274/10 "2002-12-28T19:41:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\*For all you non-Spanish speakers, that means “Yessir, Boss.” > > (I used to work with Puerto Ricans, and that’s what they’d always say when I told 'em to do something.) \*\* heh.