Children’s Circle Clapping Game & Song

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: College student
Residence: Sudbury, Massachusetts
Language: English

Text:

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.

Children’s Alternative Acronym for the MCAS – Joke

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: College student
Residence: Sudbury, Massachusetts
Language: English

Text:

Massachusetts Child Abuse System (MCAS)

Context:

The MCAS is a standardized test in Massachusetts that stands for Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. The informant, who is from Sudbury, Massachusetts, took it throughout their time at school. Every child is required to take this test in grades 3rd-8th and 10th. It covers English language and math in all years; science in 5th, 8th, and 10th; and civics in 8th. Passing this test in 10th grade is a requirement to graduating and if a child fails, they have to retake it in 11th grade. The informant heard this nickname for the test through previous generations of students at their school. They used this term with their friends as they talked about not liking the test and bonded over a shared dislike of standardized testing. The informant finds this nickname funny and it’s primary use was as a joke.

Analysis:

Children are obviously not going to enjoy a standardized test but the severity of the language chosen reflects just how much they hate it. In this case, kids are slightly exaggerating their anger at a standardized test because they are aware that it isn’t child abuse but it still shows an extreme level of annoyance. Child abuse is a very heavy topic that children are dissuaded from discussing. Children’s interest in a subject generally goes up based on how much they are told to avoid it. Making jokes surrounding a topic is an easy way to access it in a safe way. It allows children to explore a difficult concept without any real risk to themselves or others. They are simultaneously using it as a way to talk about a topic that they aren’t supposed to.

Children want to rebel against adults when they can because adults control almost every aspect of a child’s life. When they have the opportunity to break away from that control, they take it. This isn’t contained to just children, any group that lacks control over their lives looks for ways to subvert the powerful. One way that is commonly used is jokes, such as this. Jokes are a way to go against what you are told to think or feel or, in this case, told to not think or feel. Jokes can be counter hegemonic and allow kids in this case to regain some power in their lives. This acronym translation is an example of how children exaggerate their annoyance with adult control over their lives, rebel against those adults, and use tabooistic topics within jokes as a way of exploring them.

五十步笑百步 (Wu Shi Bu Xiao Bai Bu)

Those who retreated 50 steps mock those who retreated 100 steps.

Occupation: Student 

Date: 02/11/2025 

Primary Language: English

Language: Mandarin

Description

Okay. I got closer so I actually got it. Yeah, I have the one that’s um, The change tax is like, um, so that’s like the one who runs 50 steps away from the enemy laughs at the one who runs 100 steps away. It’s kind of poking fun at people who like kind of fell but they’re making fun of other people who fell. Even though, like, on like surface level, they’re both like running away from something. Yeah. Um it’s really interesting to me because it was often used my in my family. Because I have a younger sister, which… sometimes when we both get clowned on by my parents, she will laugh at me even though like she also did do something wrong. It’s also… I don’t remember a specific history behind it, but it’s definitely used, like, in war times or like, like tease on soliders who run away from your enemies. 

Subject Opinion: 

Subject: It happens unintentionally so often that, just the saying, it…surprisingly could be applied to a lot of situations. 

Analysis: 

This ancient Chinese proverb states that those who mock others’ shortcomings often have the same shortcomings themselves, criticizing the irony and hypocrisy in human behavior. The proverb’s wartime context opens up a much larger consideration of folklore born in turbulent eras during which common folk are often exposed to war, famine, etc. Similar to a large portion of Chinese wisdom, this proverb places us in a military context that, on the literal level, only applies to soldiers. But the fact that the proverb is widely known reflects the reverence and attention common folk paid to soldiers at the time, giving folk speech that stem from that realm a particular zest and intrigue. It is also interesting that the subject referenced her own family and how it’s used to point out hypocrisy in mundane matters. Though the proverb does not directly communicate a piece of advice, it encourages against the behavior described by letting the receiver come to their conclusions after witnessing the irony of the situation, making it an incredibly durable and effective proverb. 

BREAK A LEG!

Nationality: American

Age: 20

Occupation: Student 

Residence: San Diego, CA, USA

Date: 02/20/2025 

Primary Language: English

Language: English

Description: 

“I thought this was common knowledge, but apparently it’s not in theater. You’re not supposed to say “good luck”. You’re supposed to say, “Break a leg”, uh, apparently saying, good luck is bad luck. Actually, I don’t remember why that is, but I know why you’re supposed to say, break a leg. I was told that in the old days, there was a piece called the leg that held up the curtain. And if in the olden days if it was too fragile, or if you were too loud, you would…you could actually break the leg and the curtain would come down. And so if you were to nail it, you would be so good that the curtain would come down. So, that’s why people say, break a leg.”

Subject’s opinion: 

Interviewer: Can you talk about how you you might have used it in your personal experiences? 

Subject: Yeah, I, I tell my friends break a leg all the time, even if it’s not in a theater related context. If someone ever says good luck to me before I go on stage, I correct them, because I do not want that bad juju. 

Interviewer: What would you say to me, exactly, if I said good luck to you before you go on stage? 

Subject: I’d say…actually, I probably wouldn’t say anything, but it would bother me. It would actually bother me, and I’d go on stage and be thinking about it. It’d mess me up. 

Analysis: 

A student actor himself, the subject expressed surprise regarding how little people knew of the origin of “break a leg.” Many in the theatre space take the phrase for granted, but few investigate the spirit from which it originated. In fact, most have made their own speculations, drawing links to origin stories that involve the literal breaking of legs—sometimes even monogenic—rather than acknowledging the phrase’s roots in stage logistics. It’s interesting to consider how the oral history of the phrase shifted in this case. “Break a leg” is a visceral image; the opposite of what a performer would want. Once its supposed original reference to the legs of a curtain became more obscure, the phrase’s intensity and ironic appeal may have been a key factor in its longevity. Perhaps if the context was understood more widely, the phrase wouldn’t have the same popularity. 

“Schmutz”

Nationality: American

Age: 21

Occupation: Student 

Residence: Orange County, CA, USA

Date: 02/22/2025 

Primary Language: English

Language: Yiddish

Description: 

“Basically, there’s a lot of like Yiddish things that we use in my family…we’ve used forever and ever and ever, and it just like, kind of continue. But I think it’s interesting that I use them because obviously, like, I don’t live my family anymore, whatever. Um…one of the things that I say all the time is Schmutz. S-c-h-m-u-t-z. Schmutz. Which basically means like…it’s like a kind of way of saying, like, you have shit on you. Like you have schmutz on you, which basically means like…like dirt. Usually, when I use it, it’s something that’s a little more like, um…lasting. Like if I get like pasta sauce on me, I go:

‘I have schmutz on me.’ If I got like, if I had like a leaf on me that I could like, brush off, you wouldn’t necessarily say that because it’s not something that’s, like, detrimental to your clothing or whatever.”

Subject’s opinion: 

Interviewer: Do you know where [the phrase] originated?

Subject: In Yiddish. Like…it’s been a term that’s been used…I’m pretty sure it’s actually a word in Yiddish, but I think it’s very Americanized. Not like Americanized…but it’s like, very like American Jew…usage. 

Interviewer: Do you know what it literally translates to? 

Subject: No…but that’s, I think, what’s interesting about it. A lot of the Yiddish words that we use, I don’t know exactly what they mean. Like “schvitzing” is sweating. “Schmear” is like a…a schmear! Like, I can’t even explain that. It’s just like a schmear…a lot of what Yiddish is, it’s like…like, schvitzing is like a lot of like, sch-vit-zing. It’s like a lot of hard letters for something that’s kind of gross. Like, you’re sweating. Schvitzing It’s kind of disgusting. Like, you go to the Schwitz is what you say if you go to the sauna. 

Analysis:  The subject’s Jewish-American background brings much complexity to the consideration of these words as folk tradition. On one hand, they are real words rooted in multiple linguistic origins, mainly Yiddish as well as German. On the other hand, based on the subject’s description, these words have taken on a life of their own in the American social context. The subject laid emphasis on the exclusivity of these words’ usage and how they’re only a shared lingo between her, her sister, and her parents. Since the subject does not speak Yiddish, she only offered her opinion on the phonetic profile of these words and its role in their effectiveness. In this context, the use of these words becomes a social performance, particularly in the special paralinguistic patterns of voice quality and vocalization as well as how they appeal to tradition—a way to stay in touch with one’s roots in a language that pulls from a greater realm of cultural heritage.