eeny meeny miny moe

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe is a well-known counting-out rhyme used primarily by children to select a person for a game, such as determining who will be "it" in tag. It is also used by adults to make arbitrary choices between multiple options. While the rhythmic structure has roots in ancient Anglo-Cymric sheep counting systems (such as yan, tan, tethera), the specific modern lyrics emerged in the 19th century in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The term is contested due to the racist history of its most popular variant. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the standard second line of the rhyme was "Catch a [n-word] by the toe." In modern usage, the racial slur has been almost universally replaced with the word "tiger." Perspectives on the rhyme's acceptability generally split along generational and historical awareness lines. Critics argue that the rhyme is permanently tainted by its anti-Black lineage and that using it, even with sanitized lyrics, evokes a history of racial violence. Defenders, or those unaware of the history, argue that the modern "tiger" version is distinct and harmless, noting that millions of children recite it as nonsense verse without any racist intent.

Example:
"The children gathered in a circle and used eeny meeny miny moe to decide who would hide first."

Example:
"I couldn't decide which tie to wear, so I just went eeny meeny miny moe and picked the blue one."