Where did the saying Olly Olly Oxen Free come from?

Question

In playing hide and seek I was raised say this if the seeker gives up looking for you.Just wondering what the origin and meaning is.

Answer 1

When I played hide-and-seek, the phrase was All The Outs In Free ... meaning anyone that hadn't already been found was free to come in. Not terribly great English - but it worked for us kids. Olly Olly Oxen Free sounds like a Mondegreen to me.

Answer 2

We used the phrase similar; as Olly Olly Entry, after the seeker would give up the search for hiding individuals, to re-call all players back to the starting place. This place was called gouls; as I remember it. To this day I do not know how to spell it. But, as I think back, it may have been a meaning or pronounciation of GOAL. I am NOW sure that Olly Olly Oxen Free, was definitly was the true phrase of mis-pronounced Olly Olly Entry.This memory of the game hide and seek was played in Methuen, Massachusetts. This Town was also an English settled area, founded by The Searles, Nevins,and Lowell families of Royalty.However I do not think or know if olly olly oxen free is/was originated there in relation to hide and seek. Hope this helps. My question on the subject still remains unanswered.



: There's bound to be a book on children's games. What was your original question, the meaning of "olly olly oxen free"?



: I have a really neat book, "American Children's Folklore: A Book of Rhymes, Games, Jokes, Stories, Secret Languages, Beliefs and Camp Legends for Parents, Grandparents, Teachers, Counselors and All Adults Who Were Once Children" by Simon J. Bronner. (August House, Little Rock, 1988.) Catchy title isn't it?



: It doesn't have what you're looking for. But, like I said, I'll bet someone has written a book with all the old games.



I've seen this before - the phrase is probably derived from the English ear hearing the German expression "Alle, alle alle sind frie" which means "all are free" - the game of hide and seek is over.



http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/4/messages/1370.html



Olly olly oxen free is a phrase used in children's games, which is generally used to indicate that people who are hiding (in a game of hide and seek, for example) can safely come out into the open.



Origin



The exact origin of the phrase is unknown, but etymologists suspect it is a childish corruption of a phrase that would have made more sense in the Hide-and-seek context; such as "all ye, all ye, oxen free!", "all in free", "out’s in free", "all set free", "All ye all ye outs in free", "All ye, all ye, outs are free", or "All the, all the outs in free"; or possibly a corruption of the German "Alle, alle auch sind frei", (literally, "Everyone, everyone also is free").



Use



The phrase can also be used to coordinate hidden players in the game "kick the can", where a group of children hide within a given radius and a "seeker" is left to guard a can filled with rocks. The seeker has to try to find the "hiders" without allowing them to sneak in and kick the can.



It's also used in the Halo novels as an identification code of the Spartans.



http://www.answers.com/Olly%20Olly%20Oxen%20Free

Answer 3

It means everyone should come out of hiding. It comes from working a ranch and the children playing hide and go seek on it. If the oxen get free then you need to stop what you are doing and round them up. So it just means to stop playing and round everyone up. The "Olly" part is just a sound to make in order to get their attention.

Answer 4

It is an ancient greek myth. A man, named Olly, who raised oxen had the problem of all of his oxen running away. When he went to look for them he yelled "Olly, Olly, Oxen Free!" There is some part where the gods interfere with the story, but I can't really remember it, but that is where it comes from.

Answer 5

We always said "All ye, all ye in come free!" Actually, it was likely a corruption of a similar German fraise; "Alle, Alle, auch sind frei!" (everyone is/are also free). Non-German speaking children likely mispronounced the expression, leading to the myriad of interpretations today.

Answer 6

It's a corruption of the original English: All ye, All ye, outs in free. In other words, anyone who is still out hiding, can come in free and not be tagged.

Answer 7

I think it's just a silly phrase that someone made up for the sake of the game.

Answer 8

It comes from calling out "All's out, In free." All who are still out (not found) come in free.

Answer 9

The exact origin is not known,but it is somewhat related to the ole hide and seek stuff.

Answer 10

I know thats an old saying when you say you give up.