[Ads-l] monkey in the middle (1952)

[Wilson Gray]

Never heard of "monkey in the middle," before. However, like Mark, I am
unfortunately familiar with "keep-away" from my early grade-school years,
During The War, ca.1943-1945.
BTW, is monkey in the middle a variant of "man in the middle"?

On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 12:52 AM Mark Mandel <markamandel at gmail.com> wrote:

> I do not like the memories this brings up in me.
>
> I knew the expression all too well as a schoolboy in New York in the 1960s.
> After school some of my classmates would play this "game" (also called
> "keep-away") with my hat or other possession snatched from me, yelling
> "Monkey in the middle!" as they threw my property to each other over my
> head and I ran frantically between them, trying in vain to reach one of
> them before they could throw it out of my reach.
>
> MAM
>
> On Sun, Jan 26, 2020, 6:08 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > The children's game "monkey in the middle" is in OED3 (Sept. 2002 update)
> > from 1980. Here are some cites from New Jersey newspapers in the '50s.
> >
> > ---
> > https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43065809/monkey_in_the_middle/
> > Belleville (NJ) Times, July 24, 1952, p. 6, col. 6
> > Mrs. Virtue, one of our directors, made up some five bean bags, and
> taught
> > us the game "monkey in the middle." It sure has had great success and is
> > enjoyed by youngsters of all ages.
> > ---
> > https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43065650/monkey_in_the_middle/
> > Verona-Cedar Grove (NJ) Times, July 28, 1955, p. 2, col. 5
> > Despite the heat wave the children seemed to have quite an active week on
> > the Forest Avenue playground. Although checkers, kings, Chinese checkers.
> > Mad Maze, Lucky Shot and horseshoes were the most popular, there were
> still
> > some badminton, softball, dodge ball, spud and Monkey in the Middle
> games.
> > ---
> > https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43053896/monkey_in_the_middle/
> > Courier-News (Plainfield, NJ), June 11, 1957, p. 25, col. 1
> > More than 200 children and their parents participated in the annual
> picnic
> > and field day of the Hebrew Institute held Sunday at Green Brook Park...
> > Awards in games were as follows: Relay -- Jay Cherlow, Jack Ruden, Larry
> > Sletzinger, Joel Taub, Jonathan Lippman, Mark Hitzig, Marilyn Siegel; nut
> > potato race, Jay Lichtenstein; Monkey in the Middle, Joy Herzog... [etc.]
> > ---
> > https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43059206/monkey_in_the_middle/
> > The Millburn & Short Hills (NJ) Item, July 11, 1957, p. 6, col. 4
> > The middle age group have a variety of games: volley ball, relay races
> > (which are very exciting), giant steps, monkey in the middle, red light,
> > red rover, and checkers. The wee ones have two favorite games, which they
> > play constantly: Simon Says, and Duck, Duck, Goose.
> > ---
> >
> > --bgz
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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