Pepper, Salt, Mustard, Cider, Vinegar

Pepper, salt, mustard, cider, vinegar…

Pepper, salt, mustard, cider, vinegar.

How to play

Two girls turn the rope slowly at first, repeating the above words, then they turn it as quickly as possible until the skipper is tired out, or trips.

Where this rhyme comes from

Printed: 1898
Where: England

We have copied these words exactly as they were printed in 1898, spelling and all. The book marks it as a skipping rhyme.

The English form of the "salt, mustard, vinegar, pepper" ending, recorded in 1898. The same chant is the oldest dated skipping rhyme in English we have found: on 1 April 1881 the Reno Evening Gazette, reprinting the New York Sun, described girls chanting "pepper, salt, mustard, cider, vinegar" as the rope sped up.

Source: Alice Bertha Gomme, The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland, vol. II (London: David Nutt, 1898), 'Skipping', pp. 200–204. Rhymes collected by Miss Chase (public domain).

Older and newer versions

The same rhyme, changed by children over the years.

Pepper (fast)Printed 1898Knife and Fork, Lay the ClothKnife and fork,
Lay the cloth…Pepper (fast)Printed 1916Mabel, Mabel, Lay the TableMabel, Mabel,
Lay the table…Pepper (fast)Chantsby 1881Salt, Mustard, Vinegar, PepperSalt, mustard, vinegar, pepper,
French almond rock…

More rhymes like this

Pepper (fast)Printed 1898Up and Down the City WallUp and down the city wall,
Ha'penny loaf to feed us all…Pepper (fast)Printed 1916Up the Ladder, Down the WallUp the ladder, down the wall,
Ha’penny loaf to feed us all…Pepper (fast)Printed 1916What O She BumpsWhat O she bumps,
She skips and she jumps…