About This Quiz
Are you a nursery rhymes expert? Almost everyone knows a nursery rhyme or two. Many people grew up hearing them as children. Some are funny, some teach lessons and some are just purely absurd. Children love fantastical situations, talking animals, and all sorts of things which wholly defy reality. These can often be seen in nursery rhymes which often feature all sorts of impractical characters in ridiculous situations. Â
Nursery rhymes are traditional poems are songs. Many of the most famous ones in the western world originated in Britain, but they exist in many countries and cultures in various forms. They can also be called Mother Goose Rhymes, as Mother Goose is one of the most famous characters of the most popular nursery rhymes out there. Nursery rhymes as we know them today initially appeared in English plays and later books. These go back a few centuries, specifically to about the 17th and 18th centuries. The first collection of English nursery rhymes called "Tommy Thumb's Song Book," was published before the 1740s. It even had a sequel. Â
If you think you know your nursery rhymes well enough to complete them, then put your knowledge to the test with this rhimey wimey quzi!Â
"One Two Buckle My Shoe" is a counting rhyme that goes to 20. Its purpose is to help young children learn to count to 20.
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"Little Bo Peep" is another classic. Some think it dates back to the Victorian era, while others believe it is older.
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"Bingo" is a classic nursery rhyme. No one is sure of its origins, but it's thought to be a tool to help make kids more comfortable with simple spelling.
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"Pat-a-Cake" or "Patty-Cake" is a common child's nursery rhyme. It was first seen recorded in a late 17th century play.
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"Hush Little Baby" is a popular lullaby sung to babies. It is believed to have originated in the American South.
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"Little Miss Muffet" is a favorite. Despite this, no one is quite sure how it got started.
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"Rain Rain Go Away" is one of the most basic and well known of nursery rhymes. It has been sung by children for generations.
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"Jack Be Nimble" is a nursery rhyme with a surprising origin. It is believed that it might be referred to the old time superstition which declared being able to jump over a candlestick a sign of luck.
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"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is one of the most famous of nursery rhymes. It is often sung.
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"Pease Porridge Hot" is an old nursery rhyme that no one knows the origin of. This dish was also called Pease pottage in Middle English.
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This tune and rhyme evolved from a mid-19th century English dance. Today it is one of the most well-known nursery rhymes.
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"Hickory Dickory Dock" dates back to "Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book." This is a book of early nursery rhymes.
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"Humpty Dumpty" is one of the most popular nursery rhymes. Even though it is mentioned nowhere in the rhyme that he is an egg, and some believe that this rhyme is actually a reference to King Richard II of England, he is often depicted as an egg.
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"Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe" is a nursery rhyme that has been used in children's games for generations. It's thought to date back to the streets of New York City in the 19th century.
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"Cock a Doodle Doo" is an old nursery rhyme. It dates back to the 1600s in England.
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This nursery rhyme comes from an older one called "Ring a Ring O Roses," which was thought to be about the bubonic plague. People used to put flowers under their nose to hide the smell of death, hence the pocket full of posies.
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These are the opening lines of the classic nursery rhyme "A-Tisket, A-Tasket." This nursery rhyme dates back to the 19th Century.
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This is how the nursery rhyme "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" starts. No one is sure of its meaning but it is often used as a lullaby.
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This is the beginning of the rhyme "Five Little Speckled Frogs." In some variations more and more frogs jump off the log, which helps introduces kids to basic counting.
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"Frere Jaques" is a popular nursery rhyme around the world. It is most popular in its original French version even though it has been translated into many languages.
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"Hey Diddle Diddle" is a classic nursery rhyme. No one knows exactly what this rhyme is about, but some guess that it dates back to the time of Queen Elizabeth I.
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"Hot Cross Buns" is an old nursery rhyme and song. No one is sure of its exact roots.
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"I'm a Little Teapot" is a very popular action nursery rhyme. This means that children mime it as they sing or recite it.
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"It's Raining, It's Pouring" is a popular nursery rhyme. It was first recorded in 1939, but probably predates that.
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"Itsy Bitsy Spider" is a classic nursery rhyme. It dates back to the early 20th century when it was called "The Spider Song."
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"Jack and Jill" is a nursery rhyme classic. Some suspect that it goes back to the days of the English court.
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"Little Boy Blue" was first published in the 1744 nursery rhyme collection "Tommy Thumb's Little Song Book." It probably dates back farther than this, however.
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"The London Bridge" nursery rhyme is also called the "My Fair Lady" nursery rhyme. It is thought to date back to the 17th century.
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"Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" is an old rhyme. It has been speculated that its roots lay with both the English and Scottish courts.
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This is the beginning of the nursery rhyme "Old Mother Hubbard," which is over a dozen stanzas long. It is from the early 1800s.
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"One Two Three Four Five" is an old counting rhyme. It was first recorded in "Mother Goose's Melody" in 1765.
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There are several theories as to the origin of the "Jack Sprat" nursery rhyme. Some say it makes fun of King Charles I of England and his wife Henrietta.
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"Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush" has a few names and variations. It is often used as part of a children's' game.
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"Lucy Locket" is a popular English nursery rhyme. It dates back to the 1700s, when pocket was slang for lover.
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No one is sure if the king referenced in "Old King Cole" is real or not. Some theorize it refers to the legendary Welsh King Coel Hen.
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