So which is it: inky dinky? itsy bitsy? eensy weensy?
4:00 AM Musings
November 14, 2008 By
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If you’re talking spiders, I always say eensy-weensy.
itsy bitsy
I always said itsy bitsy, but at 4am Goodnight Irene worked best for us. She’s 8 now and sleeps like a log.
It’s itsy bitsy for spiders.
My grandma used to tell me stories about Inky, Schminky and Dinky, who were so poor they had to sleep in a bathtub. So I’m all for Inky Dinky.
Eensy-weensy, no question about it.
Itsy-bitsy. No question.
I can’t sing songs about spiders… ew.
it’s totally itsy-bitsy, but all the midwesterners I hang out with now seem to say eensy-weensy…
I stand by “wee tiny.” But if you are talking about that spider song (and everyone else knows versions I don’t), itsy-bitsy.
Singing itsy bitsy spider in my part of midwest, I’d have to admit that in speech I’d opt for itty bitty and an occasional eensy weensy in descriptive moments.
Itsy Bitsy. Without a doubt.
Itsy bitsy.
All of the above!
I’m a Midwesterner and I say itsy-bitsy.
At 4am I say it’s whatever your brain can pull up at the moment…but traditionally I sing it Itsy Bitsy 🙂
definitely itsy bitsy….and it requires you to use your fingers, too
In our house, it’s always been itsy bitsy,
definitely itsy-bitsy!
It’s itsy bitsy in our house, but, we now have a spider lover on our hands since we sang it so much. Beware!
Itsy bitsy! No contest!
teenie weenie. or just weenie for short.
Spider? Itsy bitsy, for sure.
My 2 yo insists that it is itsy bitsy, but I like to say “icky icky spiders”.
At 4AM it probably doesn’t matter.
First verse: itsy bitsy spider
Second verse: great big hairy spider
Third verse: well, there is no third verse, because the great big hairy spider squicks me silent.
itsy bitsy? teeny weeny? yellow polka-dot bikini?
At 4 am it should be Wynken, Blynken and Nod.
Itsy Bitsy, just ask Carly Simon.
I love 4 am musings…I wonder about the composition of concrete, eyeshadow color names, I think of great inventions… 4 am is a magical time 😉 (or I’m just delirious)
Anyways, it’s itsy-bitsy.
I think it’s Pinky Dinky Doo if you’re watching Noggin…
Gwen
I’m going to go with either itsy bitsy or Teensy weensy.
Most definitely itsy-bitsy…
Itsy bitsy with my 3 kids, but I do know some who opt for eensy weensy. At Meli’s age, I think you get to decide!
It’s whatever YOU decide, but eensy weensy seems to be what’s imprinted in my brain! When I’ve heard the song RECORDED, they seem to sing Itsy bitsy. But the folk tradition in my neighborhood is otherwise.
With appropriate hand signals, naturally.
NOW: do you play, Duck, Duck, Goose, or
Duck, Duck, Gray Duck?!
it’s most assuredly the itsy bitsy spider that went up the water spout 😉
itsy bitsy! 🙂
get some sleep 😉
Itsy bitsy if you’re singing about the spider who went up the water spout.
Itsy bitsy for spiders,
Itsy bitsy teeny weeny for bikinis.
itsy-bitsy
My girls (10 and 13) said it’s itsy-bitsy. They loved that song as babies. Enjoy any version you want though. Meli will always remember it.
Itsy Bitsy!
We used to go through so many rounds of that song that we started substituting other animals. You had to start at A and keep going. You knew you were in for it if you got through the whole alphabet and were still up.
“The itsy bitsy aardvark….”
Definitely Itsy Bitsy 🙂
I’d go with eensy weensy but I think I put a ‘t’ in there…eentsy weentsy. Maybe that’s just my NJ ‘accent’ 😉
I’m not sure if they still make them, but my mom used to have cassette tapes of Wee Sing Silly songs.
Though, I suppose it wouldn’t work to put the cd in and just press play…
To weigh in, I always said “itsy bitsy”
itsy bitsy – of course!
From my childhood? None Of The Above – I learned it as Inky Binky
Itsy-bitsy, if referring to spiders going up water spouts. But I imagine it’s open for improvisation. 🙂
I’m from the South and always sang “eensy beensy.” Some sort of combo of itsy bitsy and eesy weensy, I guess.
Raised in the south, live in the midwest, have only ever heard or sung itsy-bitsy.
For some reason the words “eensy-weensy” – in any context – give me the heeby-jeebies.
Itsy bitsy.
itsy bitsy!!
well… that’s until its firmly planted under my shoe, my favorite kind of spider.
My daughter preferred: the nipsy nipsy spider.
The orthodox ruling is itsy bitsy.
I have spoken.
I’ve used all three at different times with different children. It’s funny how families all have their own versions.
itsy bitsy, followed by teeny weeny of course
Itsy bitsy. most definitely. give me a call when you’re up at 4. i’m usually up around 3 central time!
itsy bitsy!
One more vote for itsy bitsy!
I thought it was insy-binsy. Isn’t it?
I vote for itsy bitsy. We were up around 2! (Very rare for us these days)
Well, I always said ‘incy, wincy’. ‘Eensy, weensy’ makes so much more sense.
I think if it’s itsy bitsy, it should also be teeny weeny.
I grew up with “incy wincy” (I’m from England) but around here (VT) it seems to be “itsy bitsy” all the way so my daughter is hearing both (I’m stubborn).
PS — I’m glad your blog is here again. I saw a thread on ravelry wondering where it had gone earlier today and it seemed to have expired. I’d miss visiting here so I’m relieved it seems to have been a fleeting absence.
Eensy Weensy. It is always the important stuff that keeps me awake at that hour, too.
I’ve always been of the “itsy bitsy” school of spiders.
Having raised 5 kids, its all “itsy, bitsy”….that’s how the grandchild is learning it, too!
I’m in the Midwest too and I hear “itsy bitsy”. But those wacky neighbors to the north play “duck, duck, gray duck” not “duck, duck, goose.” What the?
Incy wincy. But I’m English. At 4am you can sing whatever the heck you want to.
itsy bitsy all the way!
The itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
And the itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the spout again
itsy-bitsy
The spider is eensy weensy, the bikini is itsy bitsy, and the amount of sleep you appear to be getting: inky dinky.
It’s whatever the hell will get her back to sleep at 4 am!!!! 🙂
The spider song is eensie weensie — but for putting everyone back to sleep, I always loved “All through the Night.”
Itsy bitsy spider!
I’m with earthchick. Eensy weensy gives me the heebie jeebies, too. I distinctly remember learning it in 1963 as itsy bitsy, but for 4:00 AM, that song was a little too rowdy for me. I was always fond of “Don’t Close Your Eyes, Don’t Rest Your Head” from Mary Poppins. Reverse psychology worked like a charm.
The former daycare teacher replies ‘eensy-weensy’. And seconds the lullaby “Stay Awake” from Mary Poppins. It was *the* only thing that worked with the girl. Sing it twice, then hum until asleep.
The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out!
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain,
And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.
Hey, I have 3 kids and taught preschool for 13 years. I always assumed it was eensy weensy with no questions asked!
Well, tiny tyrant spelled out the song I had in mind BUT THEN I remembered a song, I think from the seventies? It’s german but the translation goes like this “She wore an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny Honolulu beach-bikini”. I just love that song, so you might just as well use that and have two of those things in there!