The informant and the interviewer were walking around the USC campus and spotted a Jeep with a great amount of rubber ducks in it, thus sparking this conversation. People who own Jeeps like to give rubber ducks to other Jeep owners. You can spot a lot of Jeeps with many different types of rubber ducks on their dashboard. The informant theorized that it is a millennial trend. They recall that it started during quarantine as a way to bond the Jeep community together.
Analysis: A heartwarming game within the Jeep community, it is well needed during quarantine. People still keep it up nowadays, but more as a collector to show off the different rubber ducks they own.
Twist the stem of the apple and chant one letter from the alphabet.
Pass it to the next person and repeat step 2.
Til the stem breaks, whichever letter it lands on, it is the capital letter of your future spouse’s name.
Context:
The informant played this game a lot during elementary school. They will get apples at the end of a school day, but no one wants to eat them, thus, they play this game with the apples.
Analysis:
Fortune-telling for future partners is a very popular game among children. This game specifically is very easy to set up and start, it is a form of ritual. The result of this game always brings more rumors among children and further spreads the ritual itself. It allows interactions between friends while also satisfying the human nature of wanting to gossip.
“For as long as I can remember, my family loved to play card games, especially euchre. Euchre is essentially a trick-taking game with two teams of two, with a little skill and lots of luck of the draw. In euchre, you play to ten, and whenever any team got to nine, one team member would stick their hands out, interlocking their hands together except for their thumbs which would stick down in as “udders”. Then, the other team member would spray milk on the opposing team, paired with lots of jeering and taunting as they would flaunt how they were “in the barnyard!”. That phrase has only come from my family from what I can tell, but whenever I’m close to succeeding at something, I often say I’m in the barnyard because of that.”
Analysis:
Out of all of the proverbs I’ve got from the interviews, this is the first one that doesn’t have the intention of wisdom or a hidden passage that is being passed down from different generations. This one was created about of a fun game night with his family. It is a proverb that came from a family memory and E created into a message for himself and turning it into a feeling succeeding because he would say that phrase when he won the game. I love hearing stories about a family saying that becomes ingrained into people and soon becomes of great importance to them. if you were to hear someone yell “In the barnyard” after finishing up a hard assignment or getting a dream job, it would be fair for your first reaction would be to be weirded out because that would be the last thing you expected to hear. But to them, it is meaningful for them. That is what proverbs should be at the end of the day, they don’t have to make sense to others as long as you understand the meaning and carry it with you giving you hope or reminding you have good memories.
The informant is a freshman student at USC. She referenced a proverb saying she shares with her friends where they say “I Love London” in a game they play before going out.
2. Context
“Every time before my friends and I go out, we can not leave until we play a game called ‘I Love London’ which involves us saying the phrase. We have to wait for everyone to play the game.”
“You all choose a dance move, you pass it to someone and do their dance move and another new dance move. You each choose a dance move, show the crowd, dance to someone else’s move and pass it to them.”
“It sounds complicated but we cannot leave until we go out.”
3. Analysis
“I Love London” is a part of game that engages dancing and camaraderie; however, the “I Love London” proverb is the anchor of the game. It is unclear the connection of the proverb to the actual game itself; however, it is a uniting practice that brings friends together and allows them to dance prior to going out for the night.
Crock-a-dilly oh my Crock, crock, crock Say cinco cinco Cinco cinco sock-a-lock-a Fallow, fallow Stick your head in Jell-o Your face is turning yellow 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Alternatives: (Substitute for the last two lines before the numbers)
Stick your head in ink Your face is turning pink
Stick your head in water You look like Harry Potter
Video:
Context:
The informant is from Sudbury, Massachusetts and used this text in the early 2010s as they were growing up. The text is associated with a children’s game that is meant for 2 or more players. The informant played it at summer camps and recess in elementary school up until early middle school (ages 6-12). It acted as a bonding activity to the informant and almost every child knew how to play. To play the game, the children sit in a circle with their hands to either side. Each child in circle would put one of their hands on top of the player next to them and the other on the bottom of the player on the other side. For example, they might have their right hand on top of the hand of the player on their right, and their left hand below the hand of the player on their left. The game begins with one child moving their hand that is on top in an arc motion across their body to the other side, hitting the hand of the next player. Simultaneously, the group began to sing the song. The child who had their hand hit by the first player, repeats the motion to the next player who continues the chain. The sound of the clapping happens on beat with the song. The player who’s hand would be hit on the final beat as the song reaches “10” must pull their hand away before it is hit, making the previous player hit their own hand. If the player removed their hand successfully, they remain in the circle. If they were unsuccessful, they were eliminated from the game and the next round started without them. This continues on until only two players remained where the clapping game changes slightly. The two players sit across from each other and one puts their hands out facing up and the other places their hands above, facing down. The two move towards each other, clap in the middle, and continue moving apart. They then swap directions so the player that went down now has their hands facing up and vice versa. The two then continue the motion, again on beat with the song, with the same mechanic to eliminate the final player. If the final player is successful in removing their hands, they win. If they are unsuccessful, the other player wins. The tempo of the game is changeable and it can go as fast as the children want it to, making the game harder because there is less time to react and pull your hand away.
Analysis:
This game is common throughout many regions of the US but the song’s lyrics change. The last lyrics in this oicotype of the song make references to things that children enjoy such as the sweet dessert Jell-o and the middle-grade series Harry Potter. Other lyrics involve made-up words such as “crock-a-dilly” and “sock-a-lock-a.” Both of these lyrical choices reflect the fact that it is children who are making and adjusting this song. Adults wouldn’t focus on children’s novels or fake words in a song they made for children. Many other versions of the song include words in Spanish like this one. This may be for a few reasons. One is that Spanish is the second most spoken language in the US and is therefore the most likely to be included alongside English in songs. Another is that Spanish is a commonly learned language for children in schools, where this game is often played. The Spanish in this version is the word “cinco,” meaning five in Spanish. This is one of the first words that is learned by children as they start a new language. Since children are the ones who are singing and changing the lyrics over time, incorporating Spanish that they are just starting to learn makes sense.
The game that goes along with the song suggests some adult involvement in the overall activity as it is a way to contain children and encourage bonding with a group. Groups of children do play this game of their own accord and enjoy it but it can be co-opted by adults for their own benefit. Adults might want all the kids in a class or summer camp to sit down and play a fairly stationary and calm game instead of running around and being rowdy. This game gives them that ability. The game is also able to expand to a practically unlimited number of players, allowing for both large and small groups of children to be contained.
