Why Do Kids Say ‘Olly Olly Oxen Free’?
Even the simplest children’s games have some set rules. During hide-and-seek, for example, the seeker can yell, “Olly olly oxen free!” to signify that the hiders can come out without penalty, or that the game is over. Historians have traced versions of hide-and-seek back hundreds of years across various cultures.
The earliest version dates back to the second century, recorded by Greek rhetorician Julius Pollux, and it’s been documented in 14th-century French and English records, too. However, it’s unclear if any version of “olly olly oxen free” was a part of those games. Some linguists suspect the idiomatic phrase is...
