Date:    Thu, 12 Mar 1998 02:13:23 -0600
<br>From:    Mike Salovesh  t20mxs1[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CORN.CSO.NIU.EDU 
<br>Subject: Re: Ring around the rosie(s)
<br>
<br>Beverly Flanigan wrote:
<br>
<br>  And while we're on games (a new thread?), does anybody recall "Antie I
<br>  over" (sp?)?  We played it (throwing a ball over the house and then running
<br>  around to tag people), but I have no idea where the phrase came from.  (I
<br>  think I looked it up in DARE once but can't recall whether the words were
<br>  explained or not.)  Ditto with "Allie allie in/oxen free"--why these words?
<br>
<br>Maybe that has something to do with phonetic variation around what we
<br>said when I was growing up -- "outs in free", i.e., those who had not
<br>yet been caught in the game of hide and seek could come back to the
<br>starting point without penalty.  The full phrase in translation might
<br>have been "All the outs in free".
<br>
<br>--  mike salovesh                                salovesh[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]niu.edu 
<br>    anthropology department
<br>    northern illinois university                     PEACE !!!
<br>