Half a pound of tuppeny rice, half a pound of treacle?

Question

Thats the way the money goes - pop goes the weasel.

What does it mean??!!! It seems a daft nursery rhyme!!!

Answer 1

The original theme seems to have been a darkly humorous vignette of the cycle of poverty among workers in the East End of London. The "weasel" may 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 labour.

Alternatively (and, which is perhaps more likely for a poem from the East End of London), if "pop goes the weasel" is taken as Cockney rhyming slang, the "weasel" that goes "pop" is an item of value that the worker pawns, probably after spending the week's wages (always given on a Saturday). The "serious" Cockney uses "pop" to mean pawning or the redeeming of a pawned item, while the word "weasel" means "coat" (derived from "weasel and stoat"). Another possibility is that "weasel" is a corruption of "whistle" and means "suit" (in this case being derived from "whistle and flute"). In either interpretation, the rhyme describes the pawning of the worker's only valuable items - the "Sunday best" clothing - after exhausting the week's wages on the food items such as rice and treacle, which, though cheap, were and are fundamentally useless to anyone if the buyer is poor and has nothing to eat them with. It is thought, however, that early "quack" doctors would have prescribed treacle as a sort of medicine, and gullible purchasing workers that were prone to illness due to exposure would doubtless have spent their savings on trying to maintain their and their children's health.

"The Eagle" in the poem is more readily identifiable as a Public house on the City Road in London. It stands on the site of the former Royal Eagle Tavern Music hall and pleasure grounds. Needless to say, it too is a means by which money is lost.

Answer 2

Most nursery rhymes are daft & the ones that do make some sense you cant sing, might offend someone or other. BARMY, the kids dont any different world's gone mad.

Answer 3

Does it matter? Kids love daft songs and rhymes!

Answer 4

My guess is its a daft nursery rhyme

Answer 5

i dont think it has much meaning as with many nursery rhymes...they often have nonsense words that just rhyme. i mean look at Little Bo Peep...how the heck can anybody lose a flock of sheep?!!

Answer 6

They do not suit these modern times.
No one buys treacle or make sweet rice any more.
And the prices are soaring all over the World. We do not get any rice for 2 pence.

Means money spent on useless things= waste of money...

Answer 7

It's about poverty in the weaving trade.
A weasel was a piece of weaving equipment. Popping it meant taking it to the pawn shop. I don't know if weavers were particularly partial to rice pudding,

Answer 8

Someones a little daft here.

Answer 9

Nursery rhymes are either completely morbid, or make no sense...Don't worry about it -_-

Answer 10

its something to with pawning your clothes to buy food in the olden days'''