what is the meaning of a knick-knack patty whack from the song this old man?

Question

just learning to sing children song with my grandchild and love to know what it means.

Answer 1

'This Old Man' (Knick-Knack Paddywhack) is about a 'rag and bone' man who comes to take away scrap or rubbish the sort of thing you wouldn't be able to put in a dustbin, such as old chairs, second-hand clothes, etc. which could be recycled or sold on for some sum of money. And he would usually push a barrow or drive a horse and cart. End of a good day the little dog accompanying him does OK by getting a bone. ie. he has gathered a knick knack or such, rewards the dog with a bone and rolls his cart on home.

Answer 2

Define Knack

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
what is the meaning of a knick-knack patty whack from the song this old man?
just learning to sing children song with my grandchild and love to know what it means.

Answer 4

I heard once that when striking a deal, they used to hold the other guys thumb and tap it to agree price. Doing this with the thumb prevented other people from seeing the offer being made, hence "he played Knick knack on my thumb". Don't know how mch truth is in this, but that's what I was told by an old irish farmer. He said " give the dog a bone" was to sell something to someone, similar to "let the dog see the rabbit" aka "show me the goods"

Answer 5

knick knacks are two animal bones held between fingers and thumb which when shaken can produce all kinds of tunes after some minimal practise. I played them as a kid. I have also seen them played on stage by professionals. I am 79.

Answer 6

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/REaqk

My initial guess was that "knack" meant knowledge, wit, or trick, but wiktionary list "knick-knack" as "a small ornament of minor value," which could have meant a small toy or a game. Let's try parsing the lyrics in lines 4-5. "He played knick knack on my thumb with a knick knack paddywack give a dog a bone" A comparison with the 1870's song Jack Jintle collected by Anne Gilcrest (Anne Gilchrist) shows that "the old man", "paddy whack" (back formation from Paddywack?) and "giving the dog a bone" are not essential features of the song. "And I can play nick-nack upon my own thumb. With my nick-nack and pad-lock and sing a fine song" Hence the sentence in question can be parsed as follows (SVO/M1/M2): "He played knick knack / on my thumb / with a knick knack paddywack", and the corresponding verse in Jack Jintle as follows (SVO/M1/M2): "I can play nick-nack / upon my own thumb / with my nick-nack and pad-lock" From the comparison, guessing becomes less uncertain: knick-knack (nick-nack) is a small ornamental object that is being played (spun?) on a tiny, difficult surface such as the child's thumb or shoe. Paddywack need not be the angry Irishman or even a pad-lock but it can be any small object that requires fine motor control for the child performing the song and the game of knick-knack. We could also imagine that the song was intended to encourage young children to develop their verbal skills and motor skills akin to the kind of skills that are fostered in today's kindergarteners and younger school children.

Answer 7

This Old Man is from old British slang (maybe Cockney) and with many European nursery rhyme, they were originally made and coded for adults. Change patty to paddy and now the song is about the Irish in bad light.

Answer 8

in one of the kidssongs videos i used to watch the old guy took two spoons and smacked them against his knee but you know there are 100s of versions out there !!

Answer 9

It's actually "paddywhack" and refers to hitting someone on the rear end (the "paddy").