What does "Pop" in Pop Goes the Weasel" mean ?

Answer 1

Pop goes the Weasel
Rhyme Lyrics, Origins and History
Rhyme & History

The Nursery Rhyme, 'Pop goes the weasel' sounds quite incomprehensible in this day an age! The origins of the rhyme are believed to date back to the 1700's. We have listed two versions of the rhyme o n this page. The first rhyme is the better known version - some translation is in order!

Pop and Weasel?
These words are derived from Cockney Rhyming slang which originated in London. Cockneys were a close community and had a suspicion of strangers and a dislike of the Police (they still do!) Cockneys developed a language of their own based roughly on a rhyming slang - it was difficult for strangers to understand as invariably the second noun would always be dropped. Apples and Pears ( meaning stairs) would be abbreviated to just 'apples', for instance, "watch your step on the apples". To "Pop" is the slang word for "Pawn". Weasel is derived from "weasel and stoat" meaning coat. It was traditional for even poor people to own a suit, which they wore as their 'Sunday Best'. When times were hard they would pawn their suit, or coat, on a Monday and claim it back before Sunday. Hence the term " Pop goes the Weasel"

In and out the Eagle?
The words to the Rhyme are "Up and down the City road, in and out the Eagle -
That’s the way the money goes - Pop! goes the weasel". The Eagle refers to 'The Eagle Tavern' a pub which is located on the corner of City Road and Shepherdess Walk in Hackney, North London. The Eagle was an old pub which was re-built as a music hall in 1825. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was known to frequent the Music Hall. It was purchased by the Salvation Army in 1883 ( they were totally opposed to drinking and Music Halls). The hall was later demolished and was rebuilt as a public house in 1901.

Alternative Lyrics

A penny for a spool of thread,
A penny for a needle.
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

"A penny for a spool of thread, a penny for a needle" - this version has led to a 'weasel' being interpreted as a shuttle or bobbin, as used by silk weavers, being pawned in a similar way as the suits or jackets owned by the Cockneys.

Pop goes the weasel
Rhyme lyrics, origins and history

Pop goes the Weasel

Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.
Up and down the City road,
In and out the Eagle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

Answer 2

English hatters would pawn ("pop") their weasel (a hat-making tool) in order pay their bar tabs. In the original rhyme, the word is "money," which was later changed to "monkey" in the American versions of the rhyme which also altered the drama, as follows:

Up and down the City Road,
In and out the Eagle,
That's the way the money goes.
Pop goes the weasel.

Every night when I come home,
The Monkey's on the table.
I take a stick and knock him off
An pop goes the weasel!

Answer 3

The original theme of the rhyme seems to have been a darkly humorous portrait of the cycle of poverty of workers in the East End of London. The 'weasel' probably refer to a spinner's weasel, a mechanical yarn measuring device consisting of a spoked wheel with an internal ratcheting mechanism that clicks every two revolutions and makes a 'pop' sound after the desired length of yarn is measured. 'Pop goes the weasel', in this meaning, describes the repetitive sound of a machine governing the tedious work of textile workers toiling for subsistence wages. In the context of the rhyme then the first three lines of each verse describe various ways of spending one's meager wages, with 'pop goes the weasel' indicating a return to unpleasant labor.

Answer 4

I used to think that the weasel was a balloon.

But now I think the pop means the sound of the Jack in the box.

Answer 5

I believe it represents it jumping making noises(at least thats what i tell younger kids jk ) a weasel getting shot by a pop gun or something orfalling over and plopping on cement or stuff like that

Answer 6

the weasel is a round device which holds yard goods. there is a wooden " trigger " and when enough cloth is wrapped the trigger goes off and a skein of cloth is ready. then one starts the process all over again.

Answer 7

I think that song is used with a jack in the box, and the "pop" is when it pops out of the box!

Answer 8

His head "pops out" when you turn the crank and they hit the word "pop" .. it is a word of action. His head pops up / out. Good Luck ! :)

Answer 9

Oddly enough, I always thought of it as the weasle jumping out and scaring the monkey.

Answer 10

to pop means to pawn something