| 释义 |
eeny|ˈiːnɪ|
A nonsense word (also eny, eenee, eena) used in the first line of the most popular counting-out rhymes among children in Britain and the U.S.
1855N. & Q. 1st Ser. XI. 113/2 The Schoolboy Formula... Eeny, meeny, moany, mite... Eeny, meeny, tipty, te. 1883W. W. Newell Games & Songs Amer. Children xiv. 199 Eny, meny, mony, mite. 1923Kipling Land & Sea Tales 279 Eenee, Meenee, Mainee, Mo! Catch a nigger by the toe! 1944H. G. Wells '42 to '44 199 However counting began, it is evident that from the first it produced a profound effect of mystery and magic upon the human mind. ‘Eena, meena, mina, mo’—they counted men out for definite purposes. 1958A. Hackney Private Life xiii. 123 ‘It'll cost your government a bit more, about sixty thousand nicker more, which is a nice easy amount to divide into three. Eeny, meany, miney.’ He pointed daintily round the table. |