deird_lj: (Default)
deird_lj ([personal profile] deird_lj) wrote2010-02-16 12:36 pm
Entry tags:

Okay. Now I'm curious.

(This is all beer_good_foamy's fault.)


[Poll #1526051]


Is it a regional thing? A generational thing? Why all the confusion?
ext_30166: Sierra looking holy shit amazing (Default)

[identity profile] lavastar.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
Hey, what's with the default being on incy wincy??? Trying to trick us, huh?


I think the confusion is that YOU'RE WRONG and it's itsy bitsy and your silly delusions must be stopped at once. :D
deird1: Fred looking pretty and thoughful (Default)

[personal profile] deird1 2010-02-16 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
Hey, just wait - all the British people are currently asleep, and my poll has been taken up by Americans...

[identity profile] menomegirl.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
I hit the wrong thing.

It's itsy bitsy spider.

[identity profile] twilight-dew.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
Incy Wincy. Definitely.
rahirah: (Default)

[personal profile] rahirah 2010-02-16 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
Is incy wincy even a word?!?!?!

[identity profile] gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
What she said.
ext_30166: Sierra looking holy shit amazing (Default)

[identity profile] lavastar.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
Liiiies.

Also, it doesn't matter how many people vote for the other options - I am secure in my rightness. :D
ext_15284: a wreath of lightning against a dark, stormy sky (Default)

[identity profile] stormwreath.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
No, it's a personal name. Incy-wincy Spider, 'Ince' to her friends, 'Ms Spider' on formal occasions.

deird1: Fred looking pretty and thoughful (Default)

[personal profile] deird1 2010-02-16 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
It's a word that pertains exclusively to spiders you sing about. :)
ext_15284: a wreath of lightning against a dark, stormy sky (Default)

[identity profile] stormwreath.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
When it comes to knowing about spiders, I'm going to trust the Aussie before I take the word of any Americans...
ext_15169: Self-portrait (Spike and Skippy)

[identity profile] speakr2customrs.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
Except for the British people who work night shifts.
ext_30166: Sierra looking holy shit amazing (Default)

[identity profile] lavastar.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 02:27 am (UTC)(link)
.........but incy wincy is just WRONG.

Also, it's clearly some sort of small spider - we've got just as much of those as Australia. If it were the huge big spider, sure, but we're on even ground here. :P
next_to_normal: (Default)

[personal profile] next_to_normal 2010-02-16 02:35 am (UTC)(link)
This.

[identity profile] jl-in-the-lane.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
We don't sing, "The incy wincy spider" or "An incy wincy spider" but "Incy Wincy spider climbed up the water spout; Down came the rain and washed poor Incy out." - it's her name.

[identity profile] jl-in-the-lane.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 02:56 am (UTC)(link)
I have just discovered another nursery rhyme that differs, this time by nationality!

Coooooooooooool.
deird1: Fred looking pretty and thoughful (Default)

[personal profile] deird1 2010-02-16 03:02 am (UTC)(link)
:)

(So far, the British people are going for "incy wincy", and the Americans are split between "itsy bitsy" and "eensy weensy"...)

[identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/ 2010-02-16 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
Also secure in my RIGHTNESS.

Origin of Incy Wincy Spider http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/nursery_rhymes/incy_wincy_spider.htm

[identity profile] shipperx.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
I had no idea there were even options! (BTW - itsy bitsy!)
deird1: Fred looking pretty and thoughful (Default)

[personal profile] deird1 2010-02-16 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
Neither did I!

(Incy Wincy!)

[identity profile] jl-in-the-lane.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
Well, Wikipedia isn't very helpful. I can't find that the rhyme's been around for very long, as far as nursery rhymes go. There's no discussion of differences, just a mention that they exist. And it doesn't say where the song originated or ANYTHING.

Two ways it could have gone (that I'm imagining - can't find anything to back it up):

1) THE/AN ITSY BITSY SPIDER
... and a Brit thinks it's the spider's name and cuts off the article.
That doesn't explain the change to Incy Wincy, though.

2) INCY WINCY SPIDER
... and an American assumes they must mean 'Itsy Bitsy', like the bikini, and adds the article in front of the adjective.
I have to say, this one sounds more likely to me, becuase it mimics the pattern I've seen in other rhymes that change over time - someone's unfamiliar with a word and substitutes something that is meaningful for them.
snowpuppies: (Default)

[personal profile] snowpuppies 2010-02-16 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
You can change your poll answers. Just click on the POLL Link then click 'fill out poll'. :)
snowpuppies: (Default)

[personal profile] snowpuppies 2010-02-16 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
eensy weensy??

incy wincy??

WTF?

Really?
snowpuppies: (Default)

[personal profile] snowpuppies 2010-02-16 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
I think the confusion is that YOU'RE WRONG and it's itsy bitsy and your silly delusions must be stopped at once. :D

This.

Yes.

[identity profile] 2maggie2.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
Usually I have an affection for the british turn of phrase. But eensy weensy is just silly. The yanks get one right for a change. The staccato makes all the difference.

[identity profile] menomegirl.livejournal.com 2010-02-16 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! I totally did that just now because it is itsy bitsy.

*nods*

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