Tinker, Tailor facts for kids

"Tinker Tailor" is a fun counting game and nursery rhyme that children have played for a long time. It's often used to count small items like cherry stones, buttons, or flower petals. This rhyme is also used to help tell fortunes in a playful way. In games like tag, kids often use "Tinker Tailor" to decide who will be "It." This traditional song has a special number, 802, in the Roud Folk Song Index, which is a list of folk songs.

What Are the Words?

The most common words for "Tinker Tailor" in England are:

Tinker, Tailor,

Soldier, Sailor,

Rich Man, Poor Man,

Beggar Man, Thief.

In America, the most common words are a bit different:

Rich Man, Poor Man,

Beggar Man, Thief,

Doctor, Lawyer, (or "Merchant")

Indian Chief.

Where Did "Tinker Tailor" Come From?

This rhyme has a long history! Similar rhymes have been found in old books.

Early Mentions of Professions

Around 1475, a writer named William Caxton wrote a book called The Game and Playe of The Chesse. In it, he named chess pawns with jobs like "Labourer" and "Merchant." This shows that listing different jobs together is an old idea.

The first time the specific jobs "Soldier, Sailor, Tinker, Tailor" were grouped together was in a play. This play, called Love for Love, was written by William Congreve in 1695. It included these lines:

A Soldier and a Sailor, a Tinker and a Tailor,

Had once a doubtful strife, sir.

Collecting the Rhyme

In the 1840s, James Orchard Halliwell collected many rhymes. He wrote down a version of "Tinker Tailor" that people used to count buttons. His version included "captain, a colonel, a cow-boy, a thief."

Later, in 1883, William Wells Newell published a book called Games and Songs of American Children. This book showed the American version of the rhyme: "Rich man, Poor man, beggar-man, thief, Doctor, lawyer (or merchant), Indian chief." This is likely how the modern American words became popular.

Other Ways to Say It

Over the years, people have created different versions of the "Tinker Tailor" rhyme.

A. A. Milne's Version

The famous author A. A. Milne, who wrote Winnie-the-Pooh, included a version in his 1927 book Now We Are Six. His "Cherry stones" rhyme added many more jobs:

Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief,

Or what about a cowboy, policeman, jailer, engine driver, or a pirate chief?

Or what about a ploughman or a keeper at the zoo,

Or what about a circus man who lets the people through?

Or the man who takes the pennies on the roundabouts and swings,

Or the man who plays the organ or the other man who sings?

Or what about the rabbit man with rabbits in his pockets

And what about a rocket man who's always making rockets?

Oh it's such a lot of things there are and such a lot to be

That there's always lots of cherries on my little cherry tree.

Fortune-Telling Game

"Tinker Tailor" is often part of a longer game, especially played by young girls. This game helps them playfully guess what their future might be like. Here's how it often goes:

• When shall I marry?

* This year, next year, sometime, never.

• What will my husband be?

* Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich-man, poor-man, beggar-man, thief.

• What will I be?

* Lady, baby, gypsy, queen.

• What shall I wear?

* Silk, satin, cotton, rags (or silk, satin, velvet, lace) (or silk, satin, muslin, rags)

• How shall I get it?

* Given, borrowed, bought, stolen.

• How shall I get to church?

* Coach, carriage, wheelbarrow, cart.

• Where shall I live?

* Big house, little house, pig-sty, barn.

To play, a person asks a question. Then, they count a series of objects or actions while saying the rhyme. For example, they might count buttons on a dress, petals on a flower, or bounces of a ball. The last word or term they say when they run out of items is the "answer" to their question.