Rhiannon Daymond-King sent me a counting-out rhyme called “Zinty Tinty” with this note:
“I was taught a counting rhyme by my father, who said it came from his mother. Her mother was Swedish, so he thought it was in Swedish (or possibly Norwegian given that the part of the country she was from used to be part of Norway). Looking on the internet I have found several Scottish versions, and I know we have some Scottish ancestry, so perhaps it comes from there. Dad always thought it was something to do with Humpty Dumpty, I’m not sure why, perhaps because it was said with a similar tune.
I learned it as:
Zinty tinty, figgery fell,
Ell dell dominell,
Zutty putty toory rope,
Am tam toozy joke,
You are out!
Eerie oorie, eerie oorie,
You are out!
From what I’ve seen: This is an interesting mix because it includes bits from a rhyme from the Opies (authors of The Oxford Book of Nursery Rhymes):
‘Zeenty teenty, Heathery bethery
Bumful oorie, Over Dover
Saw the King of easel diesel
Jumping over Jerusalem wall.
Black fish, white trout,
Earie, oarie, you are out.’
And also the only one that I have seen which is closest is:
‘Eenerty, feenerty, fickerty, feg,
El, del, domun, eg,
Irky, birky, story, roc,
An, tan, toosh, joc.’
(Learned in 1850 at Inverness by Miss Joass, who recited it in 1892.)
Hope this interests you and if you find a version with correct spelling that people can agree on… I’d love to know it.
-Rhiannon Daymond-King
***
If anyone knows more about this rhyme or if you know a similar one, please share it with us below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
This article was posted on Sunday, April 1st, 2012 at 4:00 pm and is filed under Counting-out Rhymes, Counting-out Rhymes, Countries & Cultures, England, English, English Nursery Rhymes, Languages, Norway, Norwegian, Norwegian Nursery Rhymes, Nursery Rhymes, Questions, Readers Questions, Rhymes by Theme, Scotland, Scottish, Scottish Nursery Rhymes, Sweden, Swedish, Swedish Nursery Rhymes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
28 Responses to “Counting-out Rhyme called Zinty Tinty”
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May 29th, 2012 at 3:29 pm
“Eenerty feenerty fickerty feg”
I have come across many variations of this rhyme over the years, there are many local variations and as far as I can tell it varies, not just from region to region, but within a region from school to school.
This version was taught to me by my grandmother who grew up in Kirriemuir, Angus (Scotland). I use approximate spellings because I’m not sure how much of this rhyme contains actual Scots words, some I think are corruptions of acutal Scots words made for the sound. Also, this is recited with a strong Angus accent which can make the spelling of the word very different to the sound.
Eenerty, feenerty, fickerty, feg,
Ell, Dell, Domen egg.
Ilka Burkie stole a lock,
An, tan, twos jouk,
Jouk oot, jouk in,
Jouk around the heckle-pin,
I’ve a crusie, I’ve a creel,
I’ve a pokie fu’ o’ meal, (fu’ = full)
I’ve a doggie at the door,
One, two, three, four.
SOME TRANSLATIONS;
EENERTY -word traditionally used in counting rhymes,
FICKERTY – possibly a corruption of fickly – puzzling
FEG – a thing of no value OR a manouver in a game of marbles
ELL – an old unit of measurement (usually for cloth) (37.0578 inches)
DELL – a goal or target in boys games
DOMEN EGG – ??? corruption of DOMINIE (old contemptious name for a teacher)
ILKA – each
BIRKIE – a lively young person OR a card game (Begger my neighbour)
AN – ?? one
TAN – ?? ten
JOUK – to jump or duck
HECKLE-PIN – carding comb
CRUSIE – old fashioned type of open rush lamp
CREEL – type of basket (fishing)
POKIE – corruption of POKE – a paper bag
MEAL – most likely oatmeal
June 16th, 2012 at 7:33 pm
My father taught us this rhyme as children. He was born in Oban in 1927 and I never heard it used by any of my own generation in the Glasgow area. His version went
” eenty teenty figgery fell
Ell dell doman ell
Urkey turkey torry rope
Am tam toory jock
You are it”
June 18th, 2012 at 1:06 pm
Thanks for sharing your version Ken! We added it to our Scottish songs and rhymes pages.
July 23rd, 2013 at 3:07 pm
My mother grew up in Duluth Minnesota US, a city full of Scots and Swedes. She had a similar schoolyard rhyme, which I will give phonetically.
Into minty tibbity fig
A dee a doh a Dominig
Ala pala tuna tika
Out goes you!
October 14th, 2013 at 6:38 pm
Zeenty, teenty, figgery fell
Ell, dell, dominell;
Urky, purky tawry rope
An, tan, toozie joke,
Eerie-oarie, eerie-oarie,
You are out.
This is the version which my mother, born in Glasgow in 1911, taught me.
October 14th, 2013 at 7:45 pm
That’s great Jane! would you like to recite it for us? :)
August 12th, 2014 at 8:46 pm
My grandmother, born in Glasgow in 1900, knew the rhyme as:
A zinty tinty heathery beathery
Bumbaleery, over Dover
Ding dell, zamanell
Zan tan toosh.
A one-er, a two-er, a picker, a seven
A halibut crackit, a ten or eleven
A zinty tinty
Heathery beathery
Zan tan toosh.
As children, we would chant it while bouncing a ball off a wall. We loved the triplet rhythm that the consonants marked out, and would emphasise the Scottish accent by chanting it through clenched teeth. I still love it, half a century on; I can’t see halibut on a menu without mentally adding ‘crackit’ and wondering what on earth it means.
September 26th, 2014 at 2:44 pm
My mother born in Glasgow 1918 knew the same version as Jane’s mother, although it began with ‘eenty’, rather than ‘zeenty’.
In later years, I thought that it might in some way relate to the shepherd’s counting method ‘yan tan tethera’ (see Wikipedia).
February 11th, 2015 at 10:23 am
A Rinty Tinty
Figury Fell
Els Dell dominel
Urky Purky Toozy Joke
You are out.
I think it is from a play but don’t know which one.
March 19th, 2016 at 8:25 am
I am thrilled to find this site. My father, who would have been 92 this year grew up in Glasgow and my brother and I loved him reciting this rhyme which I have never forgotten. I have often asked people if they have heard it and no one I know ever has. For some reason it always soothed crying babies if sung in their ear!
Zinty tinty figgery fell
Ell dell dominel
Arky parky tawry rope
An tan toozy joke
April 29th, 2016 at 1:03 am
My Grandma, from Aberdeen, taught me this rhyme when I was small. Her version was:
Eenerty, feenerty, figerty, feg
El, del, Domin, egg
Erkie, berkie stole a rock
An, tan, toose, jock.
Given the Aberdeen accent, and memory dating back 60+ years, not sure of spelling, but I think that’s close. Nannie was born in 1882.
August 24th, 2016 at 10:02 am
Hey, just was thinking about this rhyme and googled zeenty teenty and found this thread. My mother used to recite the same
Zeenty teenty figery fell
Ell dell dominel
Irky purky torry rope
San tan toosie joke
Eerie orrie you are out
She was born in Glasgow in 1952 and we still live in Glasgow but unlike lots of other oral tradition stuff it seems to have died out – you don’t hear it any more.
I wondered if it could be part of some shepherd counting rhyme like yain Tain tether mether mumph?
Anyway it’s exiting to see other people talking about it and the variation from passing stuff on orally.
September 7th, 2016 at 8:10 pm
I’m fascinated by the variations of this rhyme. My mother was born (1922) and brought up in Glasgow, an she used to recite it to us, but with an added bit on the end:
Inty tinty figgery fell
Ell dell dominell
Acky tacky tawny rope
An tan toosy joke
Joke (Jock?) went out to buy some eggs
Who did he meet but Bandy-legs
Bandy-legs and Tippitytoes
That’s the way the story goes
You are it!
September 7th, 2016 at 8:13 pm
That’s great Shona!
February 21st, 2017 at 9:17 am
Our Grandma was born in Glasgow in 1901 and came to Australia as a war bride in 1919. She always sang this ditty to all her children and then her grandchildren. This is our families version:
Zinnty tinnty figgery fell
arn darn drommey dell
arky parky torry rope
arn tarn toosy jock
jock went out to buy some eggs
who did he meet but bandy legs
bandy legs and tippity toes
thats the way the ladies go
Cheers,
Julie (in Australia)
February 21st, 2017 at 6:13 pm
That’s great Julie! would you like to sing it for us?
March 11th, 2017 at 7:44 pm
My Grandad from Fife taught me this version in the 70s excuse the spellings never written it before.
Hinty tinty
Heathery methery
Bamfalourie, shoot the toorie
Apple Davie, currant tam
Sugar Ellie, famie Ann
Black fish, white fish
All the same troot
Hinty tinty you are oot!
March 14th, 2017 at 2:04 pm
I love it Jenny!
March 18th, 2017 at 4:53 am
Our version from the 1800s is pretty close
Eenerty, Feenerty, Fickerty, Feg
El Dell Dome an egg
Iky birky starry rock
An tan toose jock
It did go on more
but not close to any of the above versions
We were led to believe that it was an old Scottish Highland method of counting sheep
But it does not seem to have any affinity with the Gaelic
April 13th, 2017 at 6:15 pm
Here’s another from Glasgow taught me by the writer George Byatt
Zinty tinty dithery mithery
Bumbleeril over dover
Ding dell ham’n el
Toodalum toodalum twenty toosh
A one or a two or a ten or eleven
I’ll be crackit
Ding dang musky dan.
Don’t ask!
July 14th, 2018 at 6:44 pm
My dad, born 1896 in Alloa taught me:
Eenty teenty figgety (figerty?) fell
El del domerell
Arky parky tarry rope
Aun taun toosy joke (Jock?)
January 13th, 2019 at 12:28 am
Mary Rough wrote…
The version my father taught me when I was a young child:
Zinty tinty halagalum the cat’s gone out to hae some fun.
Zinty tinty halagalum.
Zinty’s no in . . .
Unfortunately I don’t remember any more of it.
February 7th, 2019 at 7:40 pm
I wondered if this might have originated from the Vikings but ther words for counting are nowhere similar to any of these versions.
I then thought that there is no need to count to the base 10; why not another number . I wondered if 4 was possible since there are definite cadences to all thee versions; perhaps as a way of counting on fingers. Also note that the first and third couplets are similar in parsing as are the second and fourth [??? Left and right hands??].
Line 1. Enerty[3], fenerty, [3, fickerty,[3] feg,[1]. the numbers show the syllables.
Line 3, Irky, [2], birky,[2], starry, [2], rock, [1]
Line 2. Ell, [1], dell[1], doman,[2], egg,[1]
Line 4. An,[1], tan,[1]toose,[1], jock,[1].
Any comments anyone????????
August 6th, 2020 at 4:13 pm
Mother born in Glasgow 1922…. she recited this to us when we were children,
– never did get to bottom of where it originated!
Seems Glasgow/Scotland, before & around 1920’s is a common thread, going by the replies so far.
My memories of how it went, for what it’s worth ! …….
“Eenty feenty figgerty fell
El del dominel
Arky parky tarry rope
An tan toosy joke (Jock?)”
March 14th, 2021 at 11:08 pm
My Mother was born in Edinburgh and this is the version she taught us-
Eeenty Teenty
Heathery Bethery
Bamfaleery
Over Dover
Ding Dell
Roman Elle
An Tan
Tousle Jock
You Are Out!
June 10th, 2021 at 2:35 am
Taught to me by my uncle, born Renfrew, Scotland c.1906:
Eenty teenty figgery fell
Ell dell dominell
Arky parky tarry rope
An tan toozie joke
You are out.
My family also has roots in Dunblane, Perthshire, and interestingly this version seems very close to Bernard’s Alloa one, above, Alloa and Dunblane being only a few miles apart.
As a wee girl I thought my Aunt Anne (his wife) was my An Tan, and the rhyme was about her 🙄.
Also very similar to several of the others quoted above. A lot of folk came from further up Scotland to the central belt for work 100 and more years ago, and I expect this rhyme was brought with them. I’ll bet it has its roots in a now lost Celtic language, which we’ll never know as they left plenty of wonderful art, but no written records!
However, as a child in Renfrew, b.1948, my friends and I didn’t use it playing, we used “Eeny meeny miney mo…. etc.” complete with the then commonly used but now correctly recognised as racist and completely unacceptable ‘n’ word. Hadn’t a clue back then what it meant, and I’m now horrified at the way we used to sing-song it so innocently.
November 14th, 2022 at 6:00 pm
Zinkity tinkity figary fell
Ell dell dominell
Eerky perky
toe a rope
am pam toodly joke.
As with so many others, going with made-up spelling here, relying on possible faulty memory here. Handed down from a Glaswegian (well, was then, currently considered within Bearsden) from the 1920’s. Thrilled to find so many others also happy to meet others to finally share memories of this rhyme with others who say yes! instead of I’ve never heard that.
February 4th, 2024 at 1:53 am
My mum was born in Glasgow 1916. She taught me this version which girls sang while skipping at playtime at school.
Eeenty teenty iggery fell
ell Dell Dominell
An Tan Toosy Jock
Urky Porky Tawry Rope.