Shorty Is an Eenie Meenie Miny Moe Lover

Say What?

08.10.2010

It’s amazing how the most obvious cultural references can be so foreign to someone of another culture. For example, apparently one of my students heard the Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber collaboration of “Eenie Meenie” (Miny Moe Lover…) After hearing this wonderful work of musical prowess, apparently she turned to her dictionary to discern the meaning of “Eenie Meenie.” Upon finding her dictionary devoid of an explanation for such a strange phrase, she decided to send an email to her American teacher (me) asking if I knew the meaning. Here is what I received in my inbox:

Dear Miss.Lyn,
I'm sorry to bother you. I'd like to ask a question for you. I heard a song recently, and its name is " eenie meenie". I looked it up in the dictionary, but I could not find it. Can you tell me its meaning? Thank you very much.

At first the innocence of the question struck me as hilarious, but then I realized… why would anyone in China ever know that phrase? They wouldn’t! And as I went to explain the meaning of said phrase I realized the process was actually more complicated than it seems… I’ve never even thought of why we actually use that word selection. Catch a tiger by his toe? What kind of jibberish is that?! I’m sure it has some meaningful origin (maybe), however, below is the most simplistic response I could piece together:

"Eenie meenie" is actually part of a longer phrase that goes "eenie meenie miny mo." I'm not sure if that's the correct spelling because you won't find that in the dictionary either. It's actually part of a riddle or rhyme said by younger people in America. Sometimes when someone has several choices but they don't know what to pick (for example, whether to eat fruits, vegetables, or candy. Or whether to buy a blue, purple, or pink shirt) they will use the "eenie meenie miny mo" rhyme. As they say each word they point at a different choice. The rhyme goes:

"Eenie meenie miny mo.
Catch a tiger by his toe.
If he hollers let him go.
Eenie meenie miny mo."

I have no idea where that rhyme came from or how it started. But the way it works is that when you finish the rhyme, the choice you're pointing at on the last word is the choice you pick!

I know which song you're talking about - I've heard it a lot in the states. Basically what "eenie meenie" means in that song is that the singer has several different choices of people he loves and can't decide who to pick. So since they say "eenie meenie miny mo lover" in the song, that means he is just randomly pointing and picking who he loves best without really thinking about it - just like the rhyme!

It makes me wonder how many other phrases I’ve unknowingly tossed out in class that completely baffle my students…