A children's punning/rhyming game

[Dave Wilton]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
> Of Jim Parish
> Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 7:49 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: A children's punning/rhyming game
>
>
> Wilson Gray wrote:
> > On my very first day in the first grade 1942 in Saint Louis, I was
> > victimized by the following word game:
> >
> > Q. What's your name?
> > A. Putting and ta'en!
> >       Ask me again
> >      And I'll tell you the same.
>
> I've heard of it, though I've never heard it myself; my impression was
> that the first line of the answer was "Puddin' tame".

I'm a white person and I recall the rhyme from my childhood. The version I
knew was with "Puddin' tane". (Spelling is approximate; I don't recall it
being written.)

This version also appears in a 1998 episode of the TV show "X Files," spoken
by Agent Mulder.

--Dave Wilton
  dave at wilton.net
  http://www.wilton.net