A bit of history for you, the meanings behind some old English nursery rhymes: [thevintagenews.com]
The cockney rhyming slang adds an extra dimension to the layers.
I like especially.
Goosey goosey gander,
Whither shall I wander?
Upstairs and downstairs
And in my lady’s chamber.
There I met an old man
Who wouldn’t say his prayers,
So I took him by his left leg
And threw him down the stair
Some people say that the ganders, were Cromwell's soldiers who used to march by goose stepping. An old man who would not say his prayers, was a Catholic priest, who would naturally balk at the test of being forced to say a prayer for the republic and the Church of England. But all of that is mainly speculative.
PS. What the soldiers were doing in, "my ladies chamber". Is left entirely to your imagination.
Try reading these apocryphal explanations, also.
[mentalfloss.com]
Oh yes, there are a few new ones and some extra meanings, thanks
@girlwithsmiles I love old expressions and their origins. Another misquoted one was written by William Congreve in his play "The Mourning Bride." The true expression is Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."
Many of Congreve's expressions that became part of the English language are mistakenly attributed to Shakespeare.
"Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast. To soften rocks or bend the knotted oak."
"Say what you will, 'tis better to be left than never to have been loved."
"Grief walks upon the heels of pleasure. Married in haste, we repent at leisure."
"Never go to bed angry, stay up and fight."
There are loads of them. His plays and poetry are worth reading, for the satire they contain.
@Petter Shakespeare was the former though, I was so sure he said about hell hath no fury. Might have to read some Congreve now
@girlwithsmiles Please do. 350 year old writings that are still pertinent today.
Taken from mental floss.:-
One of the most common theories surrounding the story’s origin is that it’s about France’s Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, who were both found guilty of treason and subsequently beheaded. The only problem is that those events occurred nearly 30 years after “Jack and Jill” was first written.
The more likely possibility is that it’s an account of King Charles I’s attempt to reform the tax on liquid measures. When Parliament rejected his suggestion, he instead made sure that the volume was reduced on half- and quarter-pints, known as jacks and gills, respectively.
When i first worked behind the bar spirits were measured by the gill
@girlwithsmiles 6 times more that the volume of an average British bar optic, or roughly equivalent to the typical Spanish serving.
@Petter Chaucer at 1380 knew the phrase: [phrases.org.uk]
Again in a different format.
@girlwithsmiles replied to the wrong comment?
@Petter oops! Lols yes, that relates to an even earlier version of all that glistens. If you go through to near the bottom they go through Shakespeare past Chaucer and beyond
The guillotine hadn't been invented in Elizabethan times. They had multiple gallows.
I do hate it when so-called factual sites don't check their own output!
Also, wasn't the rhyme about Mary, queen of Scots? Imprisoned in England by Elizabeth and eventually condemned to death for plotting against her.
I don’t know, Mary Stuart was the Scot and spent much of her time in France. Mary Tudor was the murderous one, so the contrary one is likely the Tudor.
But yes, guillotines, ( the humane capital punishment), wasn’t around then either.
Wiki comes up with some quite different theories:
[en.m.wikipedia.org]
It's actually "all the king's horse" not horses. The king's horse was a cavalry regiment. Too many people misquote it. Another misquote is the proverb "all that glisters." It is not "glitters."
Does that predate Tolkein then?
[goodreads.com]
We learnt, ‘All the king’s horses’ as well.
@girlwithsmiles Lord Yes!
Did know some of these. Didn't know Ring around the Rosie refers to the Black Death. Congrats on getting to level 8 BTW.
Thank you