Regional Variants on 'Eensy Weensy Spider'

[Martinez-Gibson, Elizabeth A.]

I grew up in NYC and it was the "itsy bitsy spider" for me.
 
Liz Martinez

________________________________

From: American Dialect Society on behalf of Douglas G. Wilson
Sent: Sat 10/29/2005 5:40 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Regional Variants on 'Eensy Weensy Spider'



>I had a kid's record on which it was "The Eentsy Beentsy Spider."  This is
>the only form I ever knew. Some people in Colorado once ridiculed me for
>it, claiming "itsy bitsy" was correct.

>My wife, who is a native of /dee TROIT/, Michigan, also says it is "itsy
>bitsy".

I grew up in Detroit. "Eensy weensy" sounds 'right' to me and I'm pretty
sure this was the one I heard the most in my childhood (in spite of "itsy
bitsy" seeming more usual in general, in other contexts).

-- Doug Wilson