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Word: tethera (lookup in dictionary) (lookup stats)
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...early counting of Yarmouth shepherds (ina, mina, tethera, methera) became "Eena, meena, mina, mo"; and Westmorland's hevera,devera,dick (eight, nine and ten) is the most likely origin of "Hickory, dickory, dock." In the 18th Century, "Hot Cross Buns / One a penny / Two a penny" was a street vendor's cry. "Baa, baa, black sheep / Have you any wool?" probably dates back to the export tax imposed on wool in 1275. The "Four and twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie" goes back to the Renaissance, when live birds really were put in pies, ready...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Education: Who Started Cock Robin? | 9/24/1951 | See Source »

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