# "When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout." Origin? Source? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 8, 2006, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906 "2006-09-08T13:49:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/1 "2006-09-08T13:49:32Z")
> [@](#): > > “When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.” What is the source for this? When did it appear? Is it part of a longer essay or poem? What did it refer to when it first appeared? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/2 "2006-09-08T14:10:14Z")
[[www.commentarymagazine.com/Summaries/V25I4P80-1.htm+"When+in+danger,+when+in+doubt"+phrase+origin&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10](http://www.commentarymagazine.com/Summaries/V25I4P80-1.htm+%22When+in+danger,+when+in+doubt%22+phrase+origin&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10)]Only]([http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:4Li8eQ9EDvgJ:](http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:4Li8eQ9EDvgJ:)[url) reference I could find > [@](#): > > Osgood’s books, credits “When in danger/When in doubt,/Run in circles,/Scream and shout,” to an unsung genius in the Pacific theater during World War II… No idea who “Osgood” is. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/3 "2006-09-08T14:10:52Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [[www.commentarymagazine.com/Summaries/V25I4P80-1.htm+"When+in+danger,+when+in+doubt"+phrase+origin&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10](http://www.commentarymagazine.com/Summaries/V25I4P80-1.htm+%22When+in+danger,+when+in+doubt%22+phrase+origin&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10)]Only]([http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:4Li8eQ9EDvgJ:](http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:4Li8eQ9EDvgJ:)[url) reference I could find > > No idea who “Osgood” is. Link does not work. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/4 "2006-09-08T14:12:21Z")
I saw it in _Time Enough for Love_ (Dora says it, I believe). ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/5 "2006-09-08T14:14:48Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Link does not work. google \> “When in danger, when in doubt” phrase origin click on the Commentary Magazine link ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/6 "2006-09-08T14:30:28Z")
> [@astro](#): > > google \> “When in danger, when in doubt” phrase origin > > click on the Commentary Magazine link Well, yeah, ok. But that just raises more questions than it answers. 😕 Any other leads? Should I submit this one to **Cecil**? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/7 "2006-09-08T14:48:30Z")
Crow T Robot says it a lot. MST3K. Definitely not the origin, but I’ll bet it’s where you heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/8 "2006-09-08T16:38:28Z")
I first saw it in a **Mad** magazine Star Trek parody; don’t remember what year, but probably between 1965-1970. ---
**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:** [September 8, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/9 "2006-09-08T19:56:19Z")
Obviously not the source, but the first I encountered it was on the cartoon _Duck Tales_. At one point, that’s the advice the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook has for the triplets. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/10 "2006-09-08T21:10:25Z")
Two early newspaper print sitings. 1955 article suggesting it was the “cry of the football team of the Old War College.” Can’t say which war college the writer was talking about or the time frame. 1957 article, written by a WWII naval officer, about the crash of the Andrea Doria in 1957. He uses that jingle and says it’s an old Navy saying. He added the lines, “Stop the engines. Come About. Wake the Captain–roll him out!” ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/11 "2006-09-08T22:08:50Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [[www.commentarymagazine.com/Summaries/V25I4P80-1.htm+"When+in+danger,+when+in+doubt"+phrase+origin&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10](http://www.commentarymagazine.com/Summaries/V25I4P80-1.htm+%22When+in+danger,+when+in+doubt%22+phrase+origin&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10)]Only]([http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:4Li8eQ9EDvgJ:](http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:4Li8eQ9EDvgJ:)[url) reference I could find > > No idea who “Osgood” is. I suspect he means [Charles Osgood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Osgood) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/12 "2006-09-08T22:48:13Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > I suspect he means [Charles Osgood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Osgood) NOpe. Robert Endicott Osgood. And a telling statement from [A short biography](http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:Get_fLopY2UJ:www.library.jhu.edu/collections/specialcollections/manuscripts/msregisters/ms204.html+Robert+Endicott+Osgood&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2) > [@](#): > > Osgood also taught at the Naval War College… I think it’s safe to say that it IS probably a Naval related saying from about the WWII period or perhaps before. Just WHO invented it we’ll probably never know. ---
**Author:** ![Satyagrahi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Satyagrahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satyagrahi)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/13 "2006-09-09T00:36:29Z")
It’s also quoted in The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk, copyright 1951. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/14 "2006-09-09T00:50:32Z")
So, generally, it might be Naval. Any Naval Officers on the Board? ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/15 "2006-09-09T01:16:07Z")
We always said “When in panic, fear or doubt, scream and shout and run about!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/16 "2006-09-09T01:26:11Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > So, generally, it might be Naval. > > Any Naval Officers on the Board? You’re gonna need one who was in the Navy before 1951. ---
**Author:** ![Nightsong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nightsong/32/3083_2.png) [@Nightsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightsong)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/17 "2006-09-09T02:26:51Z")
As an added data point, I’ve always heard it as: “When in trouble or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.” Never heard the ‘when in danger’ version before: wonder which is the most common? * * * \<\< It’s always darkest before dawn. So if you’re going to steal your neighbor’s newspaper, that’s the time to do it. \>\> ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/18 "2006-09-09T03:26:04Z")
> [@Nightsong](#): > > As an added data point, I’ve always heard it as: > > “When in trouble or in doubt, > run in circles, scream and shout.” > > Never heard the ‘when in danger’ version before: wonder which is the most common? Good catch! I can find this cited in a 1954 newspaper article, but there were NO OTHER hits for that phrase. Interesting. Just someone who heard it, and morphed it in another way. This was upstate NY, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/19 "2006-09-09T08:12:24Z")
FWIW, **Bosda** , my Daddy said this was a common expression in the Navy when he ws on active duty. He served between WWII and the Korean War. My sis was born in '56, as he was leaving the Navy, so this would put the phrase as being in use from about '52 to '56. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906/20 "2006-09-09T12:34:41Z")
We seem to be getting a better fix on this. Anybody else? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-danger-when-in-doubt-run-in-circles-scream-and-shout-origin-source/371906.md?page=2)