This was said in the childhooh game of hide and seek..
2007-04-12 10:17:15 · 3 answers · asked by Bob E 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Trivia
We always said it as Olly Olly, Oxen free, when we played hide and go seek. (a looong time ago )
"The exact origin of the phrase is unknown, but etymologists suspect it is a childish corruption of a phrase that would have made more sense in the Hide-and-seek context; such as "all ye, all ye, oxen free!", "all in free", "out’s in free", "all set free", "All ye all ye outs in free", or "All the, all the outs in free"; or possibly a corruption of the German "Alle, alle auch sind frei", (literally, "Everyone, everyone also is free")."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olly_Olly_Oxen_Free
2007-04-12 10:27:31 · answer #1 · answered by Kate 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Garbling the phrase from court, "All ye, All ye!" that precedes the name of the judge who then supposedly pardons people. Thus All Ye! All Ye! In Free! means free of being ousted, or caught.
2007-04-12 17:23:14 · answer #2 · answered by Jess 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I remember hearing it as "Rollin' Rollin' Rollin', keep them dogies movin'"........
2007-04-12 18:23:07 · answer #3 · answered by open4one 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋