Knick-Knack

[Xenophon PCDGS]

My young grand-daughter asked me " Grandad, when the old man played knick-knack on my thumb" (a reference to a line in the nursery song) "what was he doing"?

I have absolutely no idea what is meant by that and I ask anyone on the website for an answer, as she is visiting me this coming Sunday

 

[birchesgreen]

According to the Cambridge dictionary a knick knack is a harmonica.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

According to the Cambridge dictionary a knick knack is a harmonica.

Seems a strange happening for a harmonica to be played on someone's thumb.

 

[Gloster]

I don’t think anybody really knows. It is possible that it is just words that produce the right rhythm, although it seems that nick-nack was connected to beating time with or on your fingers. There is a further, far-fetched but not completely impossible, development of that that suggests that paddywhack is to suggest that the British/English inflicted cruelties on the Irish with as little concern as they would beat time. Paddywhack can, or could, mean an Irishman or a childish loss of temper.

 

[GusB]

Searching Google for "playing knick knackered" comes up with a discussion on StackExchange:

Was Knick knack an actual game?

In the nursery rhyme “This old man” played Knick knack on my knee, etc. I always assumed it was just nonsense rhyming. Was it a real thing? This old man, he played one, He played knick-knack ...

english.stackexchange.com

The post links to another source:

This old Man, he played one - lyrics, first publication and meaning

Words origin and suggested meaning for the children's counting rhyme This old man, he played one

www.learnarhyme.com

This traditional rhyme was first published in 1906 but almost certainly originates from earlier possibly from the time of the Irish potato famine.


The biggest clue to the meaning lies in the lyrics most particularly 'paddywhack' and to a lesser extent 'knick-knack'.

A Paddy is still used by the English to refer to the Irish. Whack means to hit once hard and forcefully. A knick-knack is a trinket or other trivial object. Knick-knack may also refer to the practice of tapping out a rhythm using spoons.

Historically there was a great deal of resentment by the Irish people towards the English who conquered Ireland and began to settle in the sixteenth century. The English owned much of the best land and rented houses and land to the native Irish. The staple food of the Irish was the potato. However, in 1845 the potato crop failed and the resulting famine led to a 25% fall in the Irish population from deaths and emigration. English landowners did nothing to help their tenants and often turned them out of their houses. Animosity between the Irish and English rose and in Ireland the Irish Republican Army was formed to drive the English out.

Many Irish men became tinkers selling pots, pans, cutlery and other knick-knacks door to door in England. Most of them were told to 'go away' and may have been given a whack as they were sent on their way. The old man may also have played knick-knack using spoons or other objects hoping for his audience to throw him a few pennies. The people that would see the Irish starve would happily give a bone to a dog. Irish tinkers traditionally lived in a caravan on wheels that was pulled by a horse - hence 'rolling home'. Alternatively 'rolling home' may refer to the old man coming home drunk - possibly having spent what he had earned in the pub.

It's a song I remember from my childhood, but I hadn't given the words any thought until now. The Irish connection that @Gloster mentions ties in with the explanation above.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I think the "paddy-whack" reference is from a different nursery rhyme to the one that my grand-daughter asked me about.

 

[Gloster]

This old man, he played one,
He played nick-nack on my thumb,
With a nick-nack, paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I think the "paddy-whack" reference is from a different nursery rhyme to the one that my grand-daughter asked me about.

Many nursery rhymes have rather dark origins.
"Ring-a-ring-o 'Roses" is quite possibly another.

 

[GusB]

I wondered if a more "modern" version has appeared in recent years and had another look on Google for "This old man". I saw one reference to "patty-whack", but the rest all seemed to contain the original words.

 

[hexagon789]

Playing spoons or similar, I'd say.

Knick-knack as in a small object or trinket.

At the time of the potato famine, where the song is thought to have its origins, many Irishmen became tinkers - a sort of door-to-door salesman selling various metalware objects such as cutlery, pots and pans or making repairs to same.

Some would do little performances to encourage trade or earn a few extra pennies, using whatever they had to hand such as, for instance, spoons.

I therefore suggest the 'played knick-knack on my thumb' (drum in some versions) - he's beating out a rhythm using spoons or similar.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Used to love that song!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can see from his name badge that the teller's name is Patrick Whack. So he says: "Mr Whack, I'd like to get a loan to buy a boat and go on a long vacation."

Patrick looks at the frog in disbelief and asks how much he wants to borrow.

The frog says £100,000.

The teller asks his name and the frog says that his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger and that it's OK - he knows the bank manager.

Patrick explains that £100,000 is a substantial amount of money and that he will need to secure some collateral against the loan. He asks if he has anything he can use as collateral.

The frog says "Yes. I have this..." and produces a perfectly formed tiny pink porcelain elephant about half an inch tall.

Very confused, Patrick explains that he'll have to consult with the manager and disappears into a back office.

He finds the manager and says "There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow £100,000. He wants to use this as collateral." He holds up the tiny pink elephant. "I mean... what on Earth is this?"

The bank manager looks back at him and says: "It's a knick knack, Paddy Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a Rolling Stone."

 

[GusB]

The bank manager looks back at him and says: "It's a knick knack, Paddy Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a Rolling Stone."

You've been storing that one up for years!

 

[Bantamzen]

This old man, he played one,
He played nick-nack on my thumb,
With a nick-nack, paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

We use a slightly different worded version of this a Bradford City, referring more to other supporter's flags and in which direction that they can go....

 

[Trackman]

One I knew was:

He played knick-knack on my knee

Apparently there are several verses, but this is one I knew.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I now feel that I can let my young grand-daughter have the answer to her query. At the age of 79, there are now times when I do not have the quick answer replies that I once made...

 

[Mcr Warrior]

One I knew was:

He played knick-knack on my knee

Apparently there are several verses, but this is one I knew.

That was the third verse, as in "This old man, he played three..."

 

[Gloster]

That was the third verse, as in "This old man, he played three..."

I think there are probably plenty of versions of the song, but they include going up to nine or ten with a variation of what he played on. Two in one version was ‘…on my shoe’.

 

[3141]

Many nursery rhymes have rather dark origins.
"Ring-a-ring-o 'Roses" is quite possibly another.

Ha ha, yes. As in Paul Dehn's version about 60 years ago:-

Ring a ring of neutrons,
A pocketful of positrons.
A fission! A fission!
We all fall down.