Olly Olly what?

Question

On a lot of American movies I hear actors saying something like "Olly olly oxen freeze" - what are they saying and what does it mean?

Mirapence · Accepted Answer

Hello Mike,

“Olly, Olly Oxen Free” is a chant used by children to call in all players at the end of a hide-and- seek game. The origin of this expression is not very clear, but some understand it as “Everybody all come free”. That's all I know.

Mirapence

Guest · Answer

I understand the meaning to be "Come out, come out, wherever you are" ... at the end of the aforementuoned hude-and-seek game

Grammybear

Guest · Answer

One great theory is posted on this website below. I think it's the best explaination that I've seen so far...

http://janicesplaceincyberspace.homestead.com/oly_oly_oxen_free.html

When I was a kid we yelled olly olly in come free.

Guest · Answer

I believe this game is very old and originated in Great Britain.

Olli Olli oxen free is really "All ye All ye walks in free" said very fast with a stong lower-class British accent. To an American ear it would sound like All e All e aux in free when said quickly.

With a lower-class British accent, the "w" gets dropped in "walks" as does the "y" in "ye." Try it a few times and you will see what I mean.

Ed

Guest · Answer

Where did olly, olly oxen free come from??

Mishadoc · Answer

The message originates from 1800 Scottish and is really:
Calling All Outs In Free. If you put your hands around your mouth and shout it, it comes out Olly Oxen in Free. In Chicago, in our games we would say Oley, Oley Ocean, in free free, which made even less sense. Hope that helps.
Dr. Michelle Wendy Hacker
Tampa, FL.

Anonymous · Answer

0 what about olly olly in come free?02br
02br
00oh, and olly olly oxen free means that children are paying a game (maybe hide and seek), and the people who are hiding can come out. 0-

Anonymous · Answer

This is a Cut/Paste from http://www.EnglishForward.com/wiki/Wikipedia,

The exact origin of the phrase is unknown, but etymologists suspect it is a childish corruption of the German "Alle, alle auch sind frei!", (literally, "Everyone, everyone also is free!"), which is purported to have been a cruel joke often played upon Holocaust victims by their jailers. At any particular time, a prisoner might be released, immediately upon which the phrase would be shouted. Any other prisoners who also left would be killed further down the road by **** soldiers.^{[http://www.EnglishForward.com/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed]}

Gordon Leeman. WWII: The True Story. 1987.

William Cartel. History of Germany. Revised and Expanded. 1815-1990.

The etymology above is highly suspect, though ingenious, as the phrase was almost certainly in use long before WWII.^{[http://www.EnglishForward.com/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed]}

Another theory is that it is a corruption of the phrase, "calling all the outs in free".

It's a bastardization of the phrase "All the all the 'outs' in free". At least that's what we always yelled when we played. I never heard the oxen phrase until we played with some neighbor kids of our grandparents. Olly olly oxen makes absolutely no sense at all.

Anonymous · Answer

I agree with what others have said about how it is pronounced and used in the USA; "olly, olly, oxen free" is a nonsense phrase that means "it's safe to come out now" at the end of hide-and-seek.

I read that no one can pinpoint its origin, but it is most likely a childish mispronunciation of a phrase in old English, "all ye, all ye, all come in free." It could have been used in various children's games then, too, or in some sort of military capacity which children of the day mimicked for play time. Regardless of the phrase's original purpose, it seems quite plausible that the current pronunciation is due to the interpretation of a child's ear, and being passed down through many generations.

Wikipedia suggests it descends from the time British and American forces were liberating France in World War II, when they shouted it in the streets to let the citizens know the were finally safe. I find that explanation to be complete rubbish, as neither Brits nor Americans would have used the word "ye" in the mid-20th century. What an absurd assertion!

Anonymous · Answer

I grew up in New Mexico and Nevada and we always said, Olly Olly Oxen Free.  I always wondered what that meant!  So funny!  Makes absolutely no sense at all, but it makes perfect sense to children, playing, having fun!  My friend, who grew up in California, said, Holly Holly in come free!  It's fun to see how it's evolved.  It would be great to see how many ways it is said differently across the nation!

Olly Olly what?

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions