Nursery Rhymes Trivia Quiz

Answer: Old Mother Hubbard

There has been much speculation as to the origin and hidden meaning of this rhyme (as there is about most of them). The first documented printing of it was in 1805 and attributed to Sarah Catherine Martin, the wife of a British Naval officer. Some literary scholars theorize it refers to Cardinal Wolsey refusing to grant Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine of Aragon.

"Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard,
To get her poor dog a bone;
But when she got there, the cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none."

Answer: Jack

The first written instance of this rhyme was found in 1815, then in a mid-nineteenth Century collection of James Halliwell. Candlestick jumping was considered a form of divination. Anyone that could jump over a lighted candle without extinguishing it would be blessed with good luck.

"Jack be nimble;
Jack be quick.
Jack, jump over the candlestick."

Answer: The old woman in a shoe

"There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children, she didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth without any bread,
Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed."

Literary scholars look for a deeper meaning in the poem's lines, but a consensus of opinion is that it actually referred to King George II, whose nickname was "Old Woman", and that the "children" were MPs. The "whip" was the vote-controlling MP. The "broth without bread" may mean George's tight-fistedness in an attempt to restore the economy after the collapse of the South Seas fishing industry in 1721.

Answer: Tom, the piper's son

"Tom, Tom, the piper's son,
Stole a pig, and away he run;
The pig was eat and Tom was beat,
And Tom went crying down the street."

It may surprise some that the pig mentioned was not an animal, but likely an apple pastry, not unlike a large turnover. The poem in the example cited here is a shortened version of a longer verse used as a military recruiting song.

Answer: Jack Sprat's wife

"Jack Sprat" was a euphemism in use in England in the sixteenth century to refer to a man of small build. So Jack Sprat is assumed to be a short, thin man; since his wife ate the better, more calorie-laden part if their sustenance, she was probably much more ample in build. However they divided their food, apparently it was all consumed.

"Jack Sprat could eat no fat.
His wife could eat no lean.
And so between the two of them,
They licked the platter clean."

Answer: Peter, the pumpkin eater

This rhyme first appeared in England around 1797 and was derived from an older Scottish poem. It resurfaced in Boston in 1825 in a book of Mother Goose rhymes. Some literary scholars believe it may refer to the 13th century King John, who had a rebellious noble's wife bricked into a wall as punishment for her infidelity.

"Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,
Had a wife but couldn't keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well."

Answer: Little Miss Muffet

"Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a spider
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away."

There is some controversy as to the origin of this poem,which first appeared in print in 1805. Some think it is simply a ditty created by the English physician and entomologist, Dr. Thomas Muffet, for the entertainment of his step-daughter, Patience. Others opine that it refers to Mary, Queen of Scots who was at odds with John Knox (the spider), a religious reformer.

Answer: Georgie Porgie

This little ditty was first seen in print in England in the 1840s with a different
protagonist, Rowley Powley. One unsubstantiated theory about the rhyme's meaning is that it referred to King George's dealings with the Jacobite rebellion (the boys) when he fled England and took refuge on the European continent (ran away).

"Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry.
But when the boys came out to play,
Georgie Porgie ran away."

Answer: Little Boy Blue

"Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn.
The sheep's in the meadow; the cow's in the corn.
But where is the boy who looks after the sheep?
He's under the haystack fast asleep."

One of the earliest nursery rhymes, it appeared in print in "Tom Thumb's Song Book" (1744). Some scholars speculate that it may refer to Cardinal Wolsey who, as a boy, tended to his father's livestock. Some think there is even an earlier allusion to it in Shakespeare's "King Lear" when the character Mad Tom says:

"Sleepest or wakest thou, jolly shepheard?
Thy sheepe be in the corne;
And for one blast of thy minikin mouth
Thy sheepe shall take no harme."

Answer: Old King Cole

Once there was a Welsh king named Coel Hen (translated into English as "Old Cole") to whom this protagonist may allude. There is also a theory that it may suggest the Reading merchant Thomas Cole, known for his revelry and treachery.

"Old King Cole was a merry old soul,
And a merry old soul was he.
He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl,
And he called for his fiddlers three."