|
01 Apr 08 - 05:40 PM (#2303768) Subject: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: Rowan Being 2nd April already in Oz I'm a bit late but, yesterday, I thought it'd be unfair of me to take advantage of the International Date Line to beat y'all. There are a couple of schoolyard traditions around the first day of the month (hence the thread title) and around the 1st of April in particular. In Oz in the 40s and 50s you could play a joke on someone and claim "April Fool!" only before noon; you defaulted if you tried it after noon. I'm wondering if this aspect was 'alive' elsewhere. More generally (ie for any month), back in 1999, Bert posted When we were kids, on the first day of the month we'd say (With appropriate actions of course) "A pinch and a punch for the first day of the month" There were a couple responses to this, "A pinch and a kick for being so quick" and "A punch in the eye for being so sly" This arose in a thread discussion about White Rabbits, which I have no knowledge about, although Joybell (who grew up in almost the same suburb and at the same time) did recall and link to the "pinch and a punch" routine, which she describes as arriving among her acquaintances in the 80s. This accords with my recollections and I wonder what others recall about it. I suspect there's now a whole routine of 'antiphon/response' sayings connected with "pinch and a punch". Among the kids I see, it's always done in jest and without intention to hurt, although I suspect such restraint isn't universal. Cheers, Rowan |
|
01 Apr 08 - 06:12 PM (#2303835) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: GUEST,patty o'dawes A 'pinch and a punch' is still going strong, heard kids saying it today. But the smarter ones add 'and no returns' at the end - to guarantee immunity from a comeback. |
|
01 Apr 08 - 06:31 PM (#2303867) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: Melissa we had "pinch, poke..you owe me a Coke" it was used when you and someone else said the same thing at the same time. The slower one was supposed to pay off with a can of pop. |
|
01 Apr 08 - 07:00 PM (#2303906) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: Azizi Hey, Rowan! I learned about that "pinch, punch/first of the month" custom from reading about it on Mudcat. I can't find that White Rabbits thread, but here's a link to a short thread about that custom: thread.cfm?threadid=47127 BS: Pinch, punch, 1st. of the month ** "Brick Wall Water Fall" is a very popular contemporary children's taunting rhyme that contains the line "peace punch/captain crunch". This rhyme owes a large part of its popularity to its inclusion in the a 2003 American movie "Dickie Roberts, Former Child Star". Here's the memorable quote from that movie: Sally Finney: "Brick wall, waterfall. Dickie thinks he got it all but he don't, and I do, so Boom with that attitude. Peace, punch Captain Crunch. I've got something you can't touch. Bang- Bang choo-choo train. Wind me up I do my thing. Reeses Pieces, 7-Up. You mess with me, I'll mess you up." http://imdb.com/title/tt0325258/quotes "Memorable quotes for Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)" -snip- I've collected versions of that rhyme in which that line is given as "peach punch captain crunch". And I've found examples of that rhyme in which that line is given as "pinch punch captain crunch". I believe that "Captain Crunch" is a reference to a brand name of an American breakfast cereal. But where did the "peace punch" phrase come from? Could it have come from the "pinch punch/first of the month" saying? I doubt it because I don't think that pinch punch custom is widely known in the USA. But maybe that saying didn't come from the USA. Maybe it came from Great Britain or Australia and somehow found its way into the script of an American movie. Or maybe the original words of that rhyme were "peach punch" and the origin of that saying has nothing at all to do with pinch and a punch/first of the month. Oh! I'm so confused! |
|
01 Apr 08 - 07:32 PM (#2303954) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: Azizi For what it's worth: I think it would be great if Mudcat members and guests who remember this custom would include demographical information with their post, particularly when they first remember saying this pinch punch line {such as the year or the decade} and where they live/d when they remember saying this line {such as city/state and nation if outside of the USA}. This is just a suggestion in the interest of arm chair folkloric information sharing. Thanks. |
|
01 Apr 08 - 07:33 PM (#2303958) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: Azizi Perhaps not off-topic: Here's some examples of that "Brick Wall Water Fall" rhyme that I mentioned in my first post to this thread: Subject: RE: Water Wallflower & Brickwall Waterfall From: GUEST Date: 26 Oct 07 - 06:20 AM brick wall waterfall dickie thinks he got it all but he dont and i do so boom with that attitude pinch punch captain crunch i got something you cant touch rieces pieces 7up mess with me i mess you up bang bang choo choo train wind me up i domy thing thread.cfm?threadid=100061&messages=38 ** Birick wall water fall girl u think u got it all u dont i do so POOF with that atitude pinch punch captin crunch bang bang choo choo train wind me up ill do my thing i cant why not cuase i cant why not cuase my back is achen and my bras to tight and my boodys shaken from the left to the right left right right left left right im skinny your fat girl wacha looken at no reeces peices 7up u ill mess u up -Erin and Taylor ; 4/27/2007; http://cocojams.com/taunting_rhymes.htm ** That is the way, uh uh, I like it, uh uh, that is the way uh uh, I like it, uh uh, Peace punch. Captain crunch. Break Wall waterfall, girl you think you know it all, but you don't I do, so poof with the attitude don't go there girlfriend. Wait comeback you need a tic tac. Not a tic not a Tac but the whole 6 pick. I don't mean to be mean. But you need some listerine. Not a sip, not a swallow, but the whole dang bottle. Rescies pieces, butter cup, you mess with me, I will mess you up. -No Need; 11/21/2006; www.cocojams.com ** Brick Wall Water Fall You think you got it all You dont I do So boom with that attitude Peach Punch Captain Crunch I got something you cant touch Bang Bang Choo Choo train Wind me up I do my thang My Resses Peices My 7 Up You mess with me I jack you u -Takana A.; 5/20/2006 ; www.cocojams.com |
|
01 Apr 08 - 07:47 PM (#2303980) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: Bert Whooee! Azizi, that's going back a long way. Back to the beginnings of time (for me at least). Say East End of London culturally, around 1942 or three. I remember my Aunt Thelma teaching it to me. |
|
01 Apr 08 - 08:33 PM (#2304022) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: Rowan Thanks for the BS link Azizi; I'll go and check it. When I searched Mudcat for "Pinch and a punch" (before I started this thread) I got only two results. The earlier one was Bert's quoted in my OP. The other appeared in a thread on White Rabbits, started by Raggytash as follows; Subject: Folklore: White Rabbits From: Raggytash - PM Date: 30 Nov 03 - 06:58 AM My Mum has just informed me that if you say White Rabbits on the first of December your wish is supposed to come true or good fortune befall you, however she cannot tell me the origin of this superstition. Any ideas? Which produced Joybell's We said it in Australia when I was a kid in the 1950s. By the time my kids were in School- 1980s, the "pinch and a punch" had replaced it. Pity! it seems to be just an excuse to hurt people. I always hated that nasty part of childhood post I alluded to in that thread. Cheers, Rowan |
|
02 Apr 08 - 08:06 AM (#2304355) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: GUEST,Jonny Sunshine when I was a kid it was: "pinch punch first day of the month" "a punch and a kick for being so quick" "a poke in the eye for being so sly" "a thumb on the back for being so slack" I'm sure there were more but the teacher would usually put a stop to it before it got any further.. |
|
02 Apr 08 - 08:16 AM (#2304364) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: GUEST,Dazbo at work "pinch punch first day of the month" "a punch and a kick for being so quick" Was certainly around in NW London in the '60s when I was at primary school. |
|
02 Apr 08 - 08:27 AM (#2304372) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: GUEST,ketty pinch punch first in a mouth slip slap can't do it back a punch and a kick for being so quick a poke in the eye for being so sly pinch poke you owe me a coke a thumb in the back for being so slack |
|
02 Apr 08 - 06:08 PM (#2304914) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: Rowan Brilliant! Ta muchly. I'm waiting for the daughters to return from their respective school camps to catch up with their contributions. Cheers, Rowan |
|
01 Apr 10 - 04:56 AM (#2877193) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: GUEST,Laura I'm a teenager in high school in Australia and on the first day of the month we still use: "Pinch and a punch for the first day of the month, A flick and a kick for being so quick" But that is all. No "poke in the eye for being so sly." |
|
01 Apr 10 - 05:10 AM (#2877198) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: Leadfingers When I was a Sprog in Birmingham ,the Pinch and a punch was not common at my school , but the April Fool thing was and continues ! Most Newspapers in UK have at least one 'April Fool' story , and BBC TV did a long piece in a (I Think) Panorama programme on Pasta Orchards a few years ago . My favourite was The Observer , the year of Thae Roayl Wedding doing a whole series of Spoof articles all stemming from a short item on 'The Control Of The Weather' |
|
01 Apr 10 - 08:24 AM (#2877294) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: Bryn Pugh "April Fool" tricks, in my native County of Cheshire (UK) could only be 'played' before 12 noon. Any eejit who tried after this time was told : "April Fool has been and gone Th'art the fool , and I am none". |
|
01 Apr 10 - 09:55 AM (#2877355) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: Howard Jones When I was growing up in Essex, UK, in the late 1950s and 1960s, we had these traditions: "A pinch and a punch for the first of the month" "A punch and a kick for being so quick" "White rabbits" would be said on the first day of any month, not just December "April Fool" could only be played before noon. Pretty close to others' experiences. As for current April Fools, I received an email this morning from a well-known insurance company offering insurance cover against abduction by aliens! |
|
01 Apr 10 - 10:15 AM (#2877366) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: RTim It was a standard for us as children in The New Forest, Hampshire; both "Pinch & Punch" and all the retorts, plus if you said "White Rabbits" as your first spoken words on any 1st of the month, NO One was allowed to Pinch & Punch you. How they got to know that you said it is another matter? I still do it as a joke to my wife every 1st of the month. Still an inner child at 63! Tim Radford |
|
01 Apr 10 - 10:29 AM (#2877373) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: Acorn4 In Sussex the April Fool only worked before noon. We had the expression "First of May, Pinch Bum Day" - the accompanying act only being allowed on that one day. |
|
01 Apr 10 - 10:40 AM (#2877379) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: bubblyrat Same here at 62 !! We always dreaded the 1st of the month at Easebourne Primary School,near Midhurst,Sussex,as we little ones got hammered by the older boys,and it was often "dead legs" as well as pinches & punches----until we got older & bigger! We always said "White Rabbits" on the first of every month,before noon of course,and saluted LONE magpies,and said "Good morning,General !". And wouldn't DREAM of walking under a ladder without crossing our fingers, or catching sight of a new moon without bowing to it,and turning over the money in our pockets three times !My Granny was most particular about that last one. And,when I was in the Royal Navy ; well, they would sooner surrender to the French & commit mass suicide than leave harbour on Friday the Thirteenth ! Then there's "The Scottish Play", of course --( I used to work in a theatre !). Roger Mills |
|
01 Apr 10 - 10:40 AM (#2877380) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: buddhuu "Pinch / punch" was well known when I was a kid. That'd be 1960s and I lived in south Bedfordshire, UK. As for "white rabbits", at around that same time in the 60s my dad always used to tell us that we should yell "rabbits" on the first morning of the month. I think there was a curfew - one had to yell before 8 or 9 am if I recall correctly. The colours of the rabbits were unspecified as the prescribed yell consisted solely of the plural noun, with no adjective. |
|
01 Jul 10 - 12:52 AM (#2937685) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: GUEST,Britt a pinch and a punch for the first day of the month, Pull your hair for being un-fair. or a pinch and a punch for the first day of the month, A flick and a kick for being so quick. |
|
31 Jul 10 - 10:37 AM (#2955689) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: GUEST,guest I have used the flick and the kick but usually (with teenagers and adults) it is a flick and a kick for being a d*ck. Which in my opinion makes more sense. |
|
01 Jun 11 - 05:41 AM (#3163583) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: GUEST,me pinch punch first of the month flick kick for being so quick a poke in the eye for being so sly pinch poke you owe me a coke a thumb in the back for being so slack |
|
01 Jun 11 - 06:05 AM (#3163595) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: MGM·Lion WHATEVER ~~~ A Happy New Month To All ···· ~Michael~ |
|
01 Mar 12 - 03:26 AM (#3315441) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: GUEST,Davidc Pinch punch was very common in the Cardiff area, but seems unknown in north Wales , does anyone know about northern England and Scotland? |
|
01 Mar 12 - 05:06 AM (#3315473) Subject: RE: Folklore: Pinch and a punch From: John MacKenzie I suffer from this odd custom every blooming month. My partner is from Kent, and I am a Scot. I don't remember it happening when I were a lad. |
|
01 May 13 - 12:16 PM (#3510721) Subject: RE: Folklore: pinch bum From: GUEST |