Rhymes For Picking Who's It: Ip Dip And 20 More

Before any playground game could start, somebody had to be it, and there was never a democratic way of deciding. So children invented a ritual instead.

Here are the rhymes, with the words as they were actually said.

How counting out works

• Everyone stands in a circle and puts one foot in, or holds out both fists.
• One person chants the rhyme, pointing at each foot or fist in turn on each beat.
• Whoever the last word lands on is out - or in some versions, is it.
• Repeat until one person is left. That person is on.
• The fist version takes twice as long, which was always the point when you were avoiding being it.
• Everybody who has ever chanted one of these has stretched or shortened it to land on the person they wanted. This is a known and accepted part of the ritual.

Ip dip and its variations

• 'Ip dip dog dirt, you are not it.' There is a much ruder middle line that every playground in the country used and no parent ever admitted knowing.
• 'Ip dip sky blue, who's it? Not you.'
• 'Ip dip doo, the cat's got the flu, the dog's got the chickenpox, so out goes you.'
• 'Ip dip dation, my operation, how many people at the station?' - then a number is called and counted out.
• 'Ipper dipper dation, my operation, how many buses at the station?'
• 'Ip dip, dip dip, you are not it.'

Eeny meeny and the classics

• 'Eeny meeny miny mo, catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers let him go, eeny meeny miny mo.' The older version used a word that nobody should say, and tiger replaced it.
• 'One potato, two potato, three potato, four, five potato, six potato, seven potato, more.' Played with fists stacked.
• 'Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief.'
• 'Inky pinky ponky, daddy bought a donkey, donkey died, daddy cried, inky pinky ponky.'
• 'My mother said, I never should, play with the gypsies in the wood.'
• 'Each peach pear plum, out goes Tom Thumb.'

The others you'll half remember

• 'Racing car, number nine, losing petrol all the time, how many gallons did it lose?' - a number, then counted.
• 'There's a party on the hill, will you come? Bring your own cup and saucer and a bun.'
• 'Engine engine number nine, going down Chicago line, if the train should jump the track, do you want your money back?'
• 'Dip dip dip, my little ship, sailing on the water, like a cup and saucer, o-u-t spells out.'
• 'Mickey Mouse built a house, how many bricks did he use?'
• 'Paddy on the railway, picking up stones, along came an engine and broke Paddy's bones.'
• 'Zig zag zoo, the monkey's in the zoo, out goes you.'

Truce terms - the word to be out

• Once the game started, you needed a word to pause - a shoelace, a stitch, a dropped glove.
• Fainites, fains, fainlights - London and the south east.
• Barley, barleys - the north and Scotland.
• Kings, kingsy - the Midlands.
• Crosses, crosskeys, scribs, pax, exes - the rest, tightly local.
• Fingers crossed or a hand raised while you said it, or it didn't count.

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How to write it so it lands

• Everybody fudges the count. It's part of the ritual.
• Fists take twice as long as feet, which was the point.
• The truce term you used marks where you grew up.

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Frequently asked questions

What is ip dip?

A counting out rhyme used to pick who's it. Everyone puts a foot or a fist in, and one person chants while pointing at each in turn. Whoever the last word lands on is out, and you repeat until one person is left.

What are the words to ip dip sky blue?

'Ip dip sky blue, who's it? Not you.' It's one of dozens of versions, alongside 'ip dip doo, the cat's got the flu' and the ruder playground variants nobody said in front of a teacher.

What is one potato two potato?

A counting rhyme played with stacked fists - 'one potato, two potato, three potato, four, five potato, six potato, seven potato, more.' The fist the last word lands on is withdrawn, and you keep going.

What do children shout to be out of a game?

A truce term with fingers crossed - fainites in London and the south east, barley in the north and Scotland, kings in the Midlands, and crosses, pax or scribs elsewhere.

Do you sell games or play equipment?

No - we make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. Every game here needs a wall, a ball, a piece of chalk or nothing at all, and the only products on this page are our own cards.