Snip
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22 comments on this post.
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Emily:
March 8th, 2011 at 8:22 am
Like “snippets” I guess :) makes sense. Though I prefer ‘slugs and snails’ I had never heard Snips and snails before.
Amish:
March 25th, 2011 at 6:30 am
I was watching a cartoon with my little sister and they were showing snips, snails and puppy dog tails… the snips were pieces of cut hair like what you would find on the floor of a barber shop. I saw it on the cartoon Powerpuff Girls
Angus:
June 24th, 2011 at 10:08 am
As an ex little boy. I can assure you the snips are the intentional or unintentional collection of sundry items found in the pockets, hats, jackets, lunch boxes etc of little boys.
One recalls a CrackerJack advertisement in the ’60s. A boy does not have quite enough money to pay for his coveted snack. He emties his pockets on to the grocery counter. The contents ranged from rocks to marbles to a yoyo to a whistle…that dear freinds, are *snips*. Angus (who at heart is likely still a little boy) …now where did I put that puppy dog tail ;\
Terri:
April 29th, 2013 at 11:16 pm
I think puppy dog tails are a good thing. Every time you come home the puppy is wagging his or her tail with delight. Very honest response to happiness. I love the Cracker Jack reference to “snips”. I will go with that one. Snails? Maybe because little boys always seem to be dirty? Thanks for the information.
Meg:
February 24th, 2014 at 12:14 am
When my children were babies, I too thought the boys section of this poem was unfair. But, as they’ve grown, I’ve been able to see the playful truth in both sides of this nursery rhyme. Snips absolutely conjures up the many little things boys are continuously collecting, leaving around, and interested in. But the term also makes me consider being quick with the tongue – snippy, talkative, teasing/joking/jovial, silly, and with an independent and active streak. Snails reminds me of boys love of the natural world, their wild abandon when playing in the elements, and their sometimes snails pace when having to do what they’d rather not be doing. Plus, there’s just something eternally interesting and naturally beautiful about a snail’s shell – and a boy’s personality. The puppy dogs’ tails – who wouldn’t see the similarity between an eager to please, playful, active, energetic, lovable puppy dog and a little boy? On the other hand, the sweetness, warmth, caring and calmness of a little girl can melt your heart and be “everything nice”, though I see a streak of wild, fun and sassy in the “spice” part of it all!
L.A.:
April 9th, 2014 at 1:23 am
I’ve always adored this nursery rhyme and wondered the same thing ! Haha…Ithought parsnips.
Thanks :)
L:
July 18th, 2014 at 11:19 am
Interesting ideas, but I looked it up & snips are small eels, which makes more sense. I alluded it to what boys like.
Somebody That I Used to Know:
July 25th, 2014 at 9:53 am
Amish people watch powerpuff girls?
andria:
August 14th, 2014 at 1:01 am
As a mom of two little boys ages 8 and 4, this comment on the post brought tears to my eyes. Yes, it’s the vibrant, curious, and playful boy that this old poem praises.
Patricia:
August 29th, 2014 at 10:39 am
I prefer this version:
Snaps and snails and puppy dogs’ tails
And dirty sluts in plenty
Smell sweeter than roses in young men’s noses
When the heart is one and twenty
Marcel Proust
In Search of Lost Time
Kate:
July 11th, 2015 at 2:56 pm
i grew up with knowing it as snakes and snails and puppy dog tails. I think it’s very appropriate as little boys were always into catching snakes and playing with snails. And what can be cuter than wagging puppy dog tails. I hate the snips version. The the heck is a snip!
Juju Beans:
July 20th, 2015 at 10:45 pm
I thought of circumcision (ouch) regarding the “snip”…
Oh dear, I hope I haven’t added to the conundrum of our precious little boys- I birthed two ????????
Benjamin:
July 27th, 2015 at 10:12 pm
I grew up in Buffalo, NY and heard the “snips & snails” version. I came here to find out what a snip is. What I can tell you is this… I remember this being saidin the 70’s by girls, not boys, and it was intended to be feministic and cruel. By this, I mean, someone cruel created boys. They had to be cruel to cut the tails off of puppies. Snails are slimy dirt dwelling creatures that leave a trail wherever they go. I assume that snips meant that boys weren’t very well thought out and incomplete, so the Witch that created us just used whatever she had lying around from other evil brews. This is opposed to “everything nice”, which girls were created (probably by the Sugar Plum Fairy, lol). The good thing is I guess girls were meant to be cooked & consumed.
GayleH:
October 16th, 2015 at 3:12 pm
I’m 65 years young, born and raised in the US by an Australian mother and father of Swedish heritage. I grew up reading and hearing, ‘Snips and snails and puppy dog tails are what little boys are made of.” The connotation was never negative, just different. Little boys in the 18th Century (when this saying originated in nursery rhyme song form, circa 1820) were generally known for gathering small bits and pieces of “things” and putting them in their pockets, i.e. “snips” (snippets). The “snails” aspect represents their reluctance to hurry anywhere they were told to go, needing rather to meander and give other things of more importance their attention. Lastly, “puppy dog tails” are representative of a friendly, happy, innocent state of mind towards all things BOY. Puppies are mischievous, curious, and playful, which pretty much describes most little boys I’ve ever known!
Dani:
October 23rd, 2015 at 9:17 am
A “snip” is actually a small eel
Jim L:
December 14th, 2015 at 12:23 am
I think Gail H explanation is the most logical explanation of this archaic phase I have ever heard of.
Thank you Gail
Fox:
December 28th, 2015 at 5:02 am
we grew up with ; rats and snails and puppy dog tail. i guess Aussies have a way of reinventing lol
Odenswords:
February 7th, 2016 at 10:47 pm
I am really trying to believe that people out there think that ancient writers of children’s poems could not misspell a word. Or even make one up? Snipes and Snails and puppy dog tails. A snipe is a real bird children are known for Snipe hunting with a stick ” Scout leaders know they will never catch or even get close enough to do harm and they have been chasing them since the dawn of man… So Snipe ? Detectives?
Angus:
April 28th, 2016 at 7:27 pm
I grew up hearing “rails and snails and puppy dog tails” and always wondered which kind of rail we were talking about: birds, fence railing, or protests against outrageous fortune. My mother was Scottish, my father from many generations of Midwesterners and I would have first heard the expression in the St. Louis area.
Rachel:
January 2nd, 2018 at 11:22 am
I’m guessing it’s the name Amish (I’ve heard it pronounced Ay-mish, Ay-meesh, and Ay-meesh). You probably won’t see this though since it’s old.
Pipi:
June 21st, 2021 at 4:16 am
Snig is snygge in Middle English meaning slug or snail.
Danny Lee Davis Jr:
November 16th, 2021 at 1:09 am
Snails are delicious, as long as you don’t overcook them:-)