Search: pop goes the weasel
Why: Ben has a jack-in-the-box that has Curious George on the outside and plays that song.
Answer: Nobody is sure! The most confident interpretation I see is that it's from Cockney rhyming slang. Pop is the slang word for "pawn" (like to pawn something, like at a pawn shop), and weasel comes from "weasel and stoat," meaning coat.
It was traditional for even poor people to own a suit, which they wore as their 'Sunday Best.' When times were hard, they would pawn their suits or coats on a Monday and claim them back before Sunday. Hence the term "pop goes the weasel."Other theories:
- It is a tailor's flat iron
- A hatter's tool
- A clock reel used for measuring in spinning
- A piece of silver plate
- It is a mishearing of weevil or vaisselle
- It was a nickname of James I
- "Rice" and "treacle" (in certain versions) are slang terms for potassium nitrate and charcoal, and that the rhyme therefore refers to the gunpowder plot
The More You Know: Did you ever see Music and Lyrics? If not, and if it's because you are a snob who judged a book by its cover, I am here to tell you that it is mildly entertaining. Just watch this funny video, "Pop! Goes My Heart." My favorite part is the little move they do at 1:25.
