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Jack be Nimble

JACK BE NIMBLE JACK BE QUICK / JACK JUMPED OVER THE CANDLE STICK…

Double dutchActionsDouble dutch

JACK BE NIMBLE JACK BE QUICK
JACK JUMPED OVER THE CANDLE STICK.
MUMBLE, KICK,
SIZZLER, SPLIT,
POP-UPS 10 TO 1 - HIT IT. 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.

How to play

This is a double-dutch skipping song. Jack Jumped Over: the jumper jumps up very high with both feet leaving the ground at the same time. Mumble: both feet together making very small hops. Kick: repeatedly kicking one foot outward and back again. Sizzler: crossing and uncrossing feet and legs. Split: opening and closing legs about 3 feet apart. Pop: jumping high in the rope with both feet coming off the ground together.

Where this rhyme comes from

Sung in
UK (nursery rhyme); US (double-dutch chant)

The nursery rhyme 'Jack be nimble' is generally dated to the early 19th century. The double-dutch moves (mumble, sizzler, pop-ups, 'hit it') are modern American competitive double-dutch terms, probably from the 1970s onwards. In 1888 W. H. Babcock recorded Washington children using "Jack was nimble, Jack was quick, Jack jumped over the candlestick" as the rhyme for their game of jacks.

Sources: W. H. Babcock, "Games of Washington Children", The American Anthropologist (1888), p. 268-269.

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