# the monkey **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 6, 1999, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monkey/35 "1999-04-06T21:09:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 1999, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monkey/35/1 "1999-04-06T21:09:00Z")
In this song “Pop goes the Weasel”, what does the monkey have to do with anything? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 1999, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monkey/35/2 "1999-04-09T14:43:00Z")
Here’s one explanation in Cecil’s column of the children’s rhyme: “Most authorities think “Pop Goes the Weasel” describes the acts of weaving, spinning, and sewing. A weasel, Tom reports, was a mechanism used by tailors, cobblers, and hatters that “popped” when the spool was full of thread.” Okay, so a weasel can be part of a machine? Well, so can a monkey. From the Merriam Webster dictionary: mon\*key [1] (noun), plural monkeys 3 : any of various machines, implements, or vessels; especially : the falling weight of a pile driver From what I can gather, the monkey is kind of a counterweight used by the cobbler in his craft. Sometimes words can have multiple meanings and that can lead to misdirection and/or confusion. Especially when dealing with writings from the past which use older meanings of words or slang common to that period. * * * The O-man. Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.–Mark Twain ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 1999, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monkey/35/3 "1999-04-29T03:29:00Z")
But is there a monkey? Some versions mention a monkey, others refer to things one buys, then say, “that’s the way the money goes, pop goes the weasel”. The monkey could arise from people not hearing “money” correctly.