[Ads-l] [Non-DoD Source] "Niger" or "Niger"?

[Jonathan Lighter]

Bakari Sellers, CNN:

Nih-JUR.  (/ nI 'dgr/)

JL

On Sun, Oct 22, 2017 at 11:48 AM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
wrote:

> > On Oct 22, 2017, at 10:54 AM, James A. Landau <JJJRLandau at NETSCAPE.COM>
> wrote:
> >
> > I learned the limerick as
> >    There was a young girl from the Niger
> >    Who smiled as she rode on a tiger
> >        They came back from the ride
> >        With the girl inside
> >    And the smile on the face of the tiger
> >
> > "the" in the first line is needed for the meter.
>
> Not if it’s “lady” rather than “girl”, as in the other versions nominated
> upthread.  Plus “lady” is more metrically correct than “girl” in the
> penultimate line: “With the lady inside".  “With the girl stuck inside”?
> Naaah.
>
>
> >  It implies the girl came, not from a specific country, but from
> somewhere along the Niger River.
> >
> > There is an old choosing rhyme "Eenie Meenie Miney Mo".  I have heard
> that the original of the second line was "Catch a n* by the toe" but it has
> been bowdlerized to "tiger" since at least as long as I've been around.
>
> And mine (b. 1945).  I didn’t hear about the authentic version (and then
> only as mention, not use) until I was in my teens, and had an aha moment.
>   I think we’ve discussed the Eeny Meeny rhyme here a while ago; no doubt
> Ben can instantly locate the locus.
>
> >  Interesting.  "N*" --> “tiger"
>
> Well, it does make one wonder about Pooh’s buddy Tigger…
>
> LH
>
> [remainder clipped]
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>



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