Ollie, Ollie, Oxen Free
Sadly, I should probably say “was,” because that form was documented by the Dictionary of American Regional English back in the 1960s. You don’t have to be a geezer to see that the loss of the native culture of childhood to cable TV, videogames and their ilk represents the severing of a irreplaceable link between everyday life today and life centuries ago. The anarchic play of unsupervised kids was, in a real sense, steeped in the culture, from chivalry to superstition, of their great-great-great-and-beyond-grandparents. Kids grew up, but the ancient river of childhood flowed on to greet each new generation. But I’m sure that soon we’ll have an app to replace that. Nom nom.
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Larry Israel:
August 7th, 2011 at 4:55 am
When I was a kid back in the 1940’s (New York City) we said “Home Free All”. I never heard of “Ollie Ollie Oxen Free” until my kids were playing (Allentown, Pa.) thirty years later.
gordon:
October 18th, 2011 at 6:01 pm
I heard it originated as “calling all the outs in free” and eventually morphed into “ollie ollie oxen free”
CAROLE MUSGRAVE:
June 12th, 2012 at 7:02 pm
I HEARD IT COME FROM OLDEN TIMES WHEN IT WAS, ALL IN ALL IN URCHINS FREE. URCHINS BEING KIDS
admin:
June 12th, 2012 at 11:12 pm
BACK WHEN THE CAP LOCK KEY WAS WELDED DOWN?
Jodi:
August 6th, 2012 at 10:19 am
I’m 52 and a half years old, and ollie, ollie, oxen free is what I said as a child.
Ron Grimes:
September 15th, 2012 at 9:12 pm
Well, here’s my twist on this saying. This year, I decided to learn German, and I’m currently at level 4 of the German Rosetta Stone course. As you may know, English is a Germanic language, and so many of our words sound very close. I was thinking the other day about the origin of Ollie Ollie oxen free, and I noticed how this could easily have been the poor attempts of English speaking children to imitate their German speaking friends shouting, “Alle alle auch sind frei.”, which means All, All are free.
Ron Grimes:
September 15th, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Btw, punch that German phrase into Google translate and then click the speak icon in the lower right of the translation box, and see if you can hear the similarity. See http://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=wT#auto/en/alle%20alle%20auch%20sind%20frei
Ron:
September 15th, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Of course, another German phrase that’s possible is changing auch to such, as in “Alle alle euch sind frei”, which would render “All, you all are free.” Euch is you and auch is also.
MarkB:
December 22nd, 2012 at 3:07 pm
I seem to recall ‘ollie ollie entry,’ while my father told me he used ‘oxen free.’ I’m surprised to see no mention of ‘new cucumber’ here. Typically, a boy would should ‘ollie ollie entry/oxen free, new cucumber!’ This was notice that a new person was joining the game. This was in Boston during the 1960s. It’s been suggested that ‘new cucumber’ was a play on ‘new comer,’ as in new person joining the game.
I have to add that when I was using these words, it never occurred to me that they could be spelled out. Since they were only used orally, there was no reason for them to be tied down to a particular literary form. I think that at the time I would have transliterated ‘ally-ally,’ as in ‘all of you.’ The ‘ollie’ spelling I see now certainly makes less sense than my original assumption.
It is sad to see that this sort of thing seems to be disappearing. Generations of children passed these cultural tidbits down to each other, without schooling or parents being involved. Now? I doubt hide and seek has been played in my old Boston neighborhood in decades.
Sandra Lewis:
January 6th, 2013 at 6:19 pm
I heard it from my old Irish grandmother that it is a slurred version of “All ye, all ye, out and free!”
Gee, my cap lock key was never welded down properly, it keeps CoMiNg UnStUcK. Must have got a bad one here.
lorla bene:
January 11th, 2013 at 1:18 pm
this 76 yr grandma definitely remembers olly olly ocean free new cucumber…..don’t know why we used “ocean” instead of “oxen”, but we had fun…. I’m also surprised not too much mention of “new cucumber”….
Joe:
February 3rd, 2013 at 3:53 pm
Never heard of cucumber, but we called out “Ally, ally in come free”. I guess it was pretty clean cut in St. Louis in the 70’s.
Karen:
February 7th, 2013 at 11:53 am
I grew up in the 1950’s and we would play hide and seek and use the term “ollie, ollie, oxen free”. I grew up on the west coast
Jonathan:
February 19th, 2013 at 4:28 pm
Does anybody know of the version, “Ollie, Ollie home come free!”. That’s what I used when I was little in the New York/Connecticut area. I am using it in a show (I am a comedian/singer/songwriter) and I’d like to use 1. a version that people in New York/Connecticut would recognize, and 2. another version that people in Scotland would recognize.
Thanks so much!
Jaime:
April 1st, 2013 at 2:54 am
I was born in 1985 and grew up (mostly) in Sharon, PA (on the OH) border. My friends and I always said Olly Olly oxen free. In never even occurred to that there may other variations until I decided to look the phrase up. I also lived in FL and IN growing up, and I can’t remember if my friends used the phrase in either of those places. I know it was common in PA, though.
Diana P:
June 13th, 2013 at 11:06 pm
I always thought it was from “All ye! All ye! All’s in free” and when I was a kid we pronounced it “Allie! Allie! Aoughts in free”. I was in California but my parents were from Kansas.
Goldy M:
July 28th, 2013 at 3:37 pm
We played Hide & Seek games until dark in Southern CA. We called “Olly Olly Oxen Free Free Free”. This was late 40s/early 50s. I’m now teaching the phrase to my grandchildren who don’t seem to mind that grandma is kind of slow getting to base (they always win!). But they love yelling out this phrase.
Joan:
September 30th, 2013 at 2:03 pm
I’m seventy one and as children we said “Ollie Ollie oxen free!” I don’t know what made me think of it today but that is what made me look it up. I found it interesting, the many variations of it from around the world. The German rendition made a lot of sense. It’s funny how a lot of things came from the old country. I think we’re all hiding from something, wishing someone would free us up from those burdens we somethimes harbor. There’s always a reason when things come to mind. How blessed we are to have the internet, to free us from so many unanswered questions.So I wish you all, “Ollie Ollie oxen free.” God Bless.
Larry Bailey:
October 9th, 2013 at 8:48 am
I’am 51 and grew up in upstate NY. We would always yell Ollie Ollie Homefree when you managed to get back to home base without being tagged, while the seeker was out looking for other hiders. Our games never ended until either everybody made it to homebase or where tagged out trying to get to homebase. Why would you give a free pass and stop the game before it was over??? Weird!
Pat:
October 12th, 2013 at 8:56 am
I spent my elementary school years in suburban St. Louis during the ’50s. We used the “in come free” version (see “Joe” above).
Kris:
October 28th, 2013 at 10:59 pm
Back in the 1950’s, we used Ollie, Ollie, Oxen. Oxen Free. Who don’t come, it will be.
Susan:
December 1st, 2013 at 11:06 am
I’m 60 and grew up downstate Illinois. We said “ally, ally oxen free-o”. Don’t know why the free-o unless one of us was trying to say free-er and had a speech impediment! We grew up on a farm and there were 7 of us kids, so lots of room and places to play hide and seek.
Bettina Gray:
January 14th, 2014 at 9:32 pm
When I was the youngest of many cousins and was always’it’ in ‘Hide and Seek’ the call in the dark “ally,ally, outs in free” was wonderful!
Kayanna:
January 18th, 2014 at 10:32 pm
My dog Is a boxer and we named him Ollie and his nick name is “Ollie Ollie oxen free”
Larry:
February 11th, 2014 at 12:42 pm
I grew up on the west coast during the 1950’s and we used to say ollie, ollie all in free, free, free. I guess it didn’t matter what you said or how you said it, we all meant the same thing.
Dennis:
March 14th, 2014 at 11:41 am
This makes most sense and sounds very similar. ‘euch’ in german is pronounced ‘oik ‘ and ‘sind’ is ‘zind ‘ so combined they sound like ‘oikzin’ which sounds to me really close to ‘oxen’ with a boston accent.
Melissa:
March 14th, 2014 at 7:46 pm
I grew up in Australia in the 1970’s and we said this phrase also.
My daughter who is 10 was saying it yesterday and the reason as to why I am on here reading it’s origin.
I have really enjoyed reading all these comments, it makes me a little nostalgic.
I wish the internet hadn’t replaced a lot of the great childhood games with apps.
I am now going to try and teach my daughter the great outdoor games we played until dark in the beautiful Australian summers.
Kitty:
April 3rd, 2014 at 11:57 am
I’m 55 and the reason I’m even at this site was because I was researching Olly Olly Oxen Free as a title for a poem I’m writing.It seems many of us have similar but different memories but we all seem to have a fond remembrance of days gone by.
Blessings! From a child at heart…
Traci Foster:
April 5th, 2014 at 2:35 am
I am 51 and grew up in Arkansas and Texas and we used the phrase “Ollie Ollie oxen free”
Marilee:
June 11th, 2014 at 9:26 pm
I grew up in the sixties in California and we said Ollie Ollie oxen free at ten end of a game of hide and seek. There were sixty three children in the twenty houses on the block I lived on, so we always had a lot of kids to play with. I was looking up the phrase because I was going to use it in a post to my granddaughter whose little son is due today and is taking his time making his appearance. I don’t think it is necessarily sad that the children won’t live our lives, we didn’t sit around wishing we were living our parents’ or grandparents’ lives and they won’t bemoan the fact that they aren’t living ours. They will be just as nostalgist for their experiences twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, and sixty years from now as we are about ours.
Jan:
July 4th, 2014 at 1:54 pm
Just realized after 55 years that i had been saying this all wrong as a kid. I thought it was “Ollie Ollie infantry.” haha
Phill:
August 4th, 2014 at 6:03 pm
Jane Fonda says something similar to this in the movie Klute. When she meets Klute (Donald Sutherland) for the second time, she suddenly breaks off from talking to him, opens a door and shouts it out, finishing with the phrase – “I’ve got the gum drops!” Can anyone shed any light on this?
chorley:
September 24th, 2014 at 6:15 pm
My brother and I were reminiscing about growing up the other day, and we both had no idea why we said “ollie ollie oxen free.” We lived in midwest America as children but our dad was a European immigrant and our mom’s from the east coast, and I know we picked up some unusual traditions and such. Honestly, I think we played tag wrong 90% of the time. We were always making up new rules and twists to make the game more interesting.
sn:
October 1st, 2014 at 9:11 pm
Growing up in New Jersey, Connecticut, and California I got to hear a lot of regional variations of expressions. I think originally in hide and seek it was “ollie ollie in come free”, but then later when I first heard “oxen free” I thought what is this oxen all about. Even in my puzzlement though it sounded familiar so I must have heard it before somewhere. I think some places I even heard “everybody in come free”
Shannon:
November 12th, 2014 at 3:10 am
Peanuts cartoon strip October 3rd, 1955 documents Lucy yelling “olee olee olsen free-o” and Violet responding back: “in case you don’t know it, the phrase is ‘ally ally out are in free!”
Marty:
January 13th, 2015 at 12:26 pm
My husband from Indiana says he used to say ” All the all the outs in free” which makes sense but being from CA we all said ” Ollie Ollie oxen free” which granted makes no sense but is so traditional!
Kristine:
January 22nd, 2015 at 10:06 am
A group of neighborhood kids born in the late forties and early fifties (I am 63) in westbrook maine said all-ee all-ee en come free during hide-and-seek – a popular after supper game in summer.
andrew:
January 28th, 2015 at 10:25 pm
Fascinating stuff! I was born in the UK in 1944 and moved to South Africa at age 5 and have NEVER heard the expression! But I loved the history – thanks!
Kit:
February 1st, 2015 at 12:41 pm
I tip my hat to all of us! Here we are- each having searched the internet to expand our literal understanding of a phrase that sums up one of the best parts of childhood. Siliness and joy beyond measure. I’ve enjoyed each comment, thanks for sharing! Saying or thinking the phrase has each of us out in the yard with our childhood companions and flooded with the joy we experienced decades ago.
I’m 54 and I train dogs as well as helping (training)!dog parents to remediate issues that often spring up from the dog being anxious or fearful. I use and encourage the use of silly phrases for bridging the communication gap between peeps and pets. The dog hears what you mean- ‘I’m relaxed, happy, and full of joy- come join me!’ It doesn’t really matter what is said. Who could possibly say ‘Ollie, Ollie, oxen free!’ with a tense voice and tense facial expression? Impossible!
I found myself reading all of this because I was composing an email to a new client, describing the use of Ollie, Ollie … as a new recall or reassurance phrase and thought to myself, ‘hmmm… I love it, I use it, it’s universal- what does it mean?
Thank you very much for sharing the numerous versions, the games, the joy! My thanks to the author(s) of this website! You have all added a deeply satisfying scoop of joy to a gray and blizzard-y Wisconsin day!
Ollie Ollie oxen free!
Kit
sgt jay:
February 11th, 2015 at 5:20 am
in milwaukee in the 60’s, we shouted ‘olly olly in come free’ after a game of kick-the-can. The miracles of modern times electronic gizmos is killing off centuries of traditions. Do they still have recess in schools anywhere? My kid, in elementary school had no recess and brought home hours of homework-there wasnt time to play outside.
Nancy:
March 15th, 2015 at 12:35 pm
In Chicago in the mid 20th century we said ‘Olly olly ocean free’ usually followed by ‘new player’. We didn’t use this in tag, only in hide and seek, and the phrase was used when a newcomer wanted to joing the game, so that we could start over.
Teacher Mom:
May 18th, 2015 at 3:53 pm
I grew up in the 1970’s in a great suburban neighborhood in Lexington, Ky. Our rule was to come home when the street lights came on. We always said “Olly, olly in come free” to let everyone know it was safe to come back to home base. I am glad to say that my boys (teenagers now) also had the chance to grow up in a neighborhood where they could ride bikes, play pick up football in a neighbor’s yard, climb trees, go sledding on snow days and play cops and robbers when it finally got dark on a summer night. I am sure that they have no idea how unique that is in this day and age. All the neighbors watch out for each other and our kids have slowly (sometimes it seems lightning quick) evolved from only being allowed to run up and down our side of the street to now being allowed to bike all around the neighborhood to the park and friends’ houses. It starts by teaching them responsibility and common sense when they are little. Teach them to be smart and cautious, but not afraid of everything.
Marlene:
July 2nd, 2015 at 1:51 pm
When I was younger and we played hide and seek, anybody we didn’t find had to be called in by saying allee allee oxen free.
Konni:
August 7th, 2015 at 9:31 am
Over the years I heard people saying ollie, ollie oxen free, but thought “no, we didn’t say it that way”. Looking it up on the internet I saw the midwest version. I grew up in the ’50’s in Grand Forks, ND, and ole, ole olsen’s free is what we said! My brother passed away last year and when I “talk” to him on his facebook page I always sign off now with Ole, Ole, Olsen’s Free!Then add, It’s time to go home for supper!
deirdra:
August 8th, 2015 at 12:26 am
I came here because I was watching a 1962 episode of the Twilight Zone called “Kick the Can” and they were saying “ollie ollie oxen free” and I said what do oxen have to do with hide and seek? When I was playing kick the can in the 1950s and 60s we said “all-y all-y in come free” in Rochester NY.
Edie Babe:
September 4th, 2015 at 5:48 am
I was looking it up because when I go for walks with my girl friend at night she always says text me when you get home and I always want to text her ‘Ollie Ollie oxen free – home safe’ so I wanted to know what it actually meant &/or before I sent it to that because she’s funny like that and she would ask. I live in the Pacific Northwest in Canada currently and grew up on the Canadian pra
Moss:
October 25th, 2015 at 9:25 am
That Peanuts strip is what brought me here. (Ollie Ollie Oxen Free, 1970’s NJ)
Mel:
November 9th, 2015 at 10:43 pm
I grew up saying and hearing: All ye, all ye osten free!
It was during hide and seek and never with tag. I grew up in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada in the 60’s. I know that ‘osten’ is ‘east’ in German. I’m sure it was not ‘oxen’.
I know that Kitchener at that time had a large German population. It was once called Berlin but the name was changed due to one of the World Wars. However, none of my friends were of German descent.
We also shouted: ‘Come out! Come out wherever you are.’.
Has anyone ever heard ‘osten free’? Google searches only give me ‘oxen free’. So sure it wasn’t ‘oxen’.
Goobygirl:
November 12th, 2015 at 5:04 am
What fantastic reading – lovely and genuinely interesting responses, everyone! I ain’t no prude but I must comment that unless any of the following have been edited I find every comment free of: bitterness, whinging, swearing – and hating. Encouraging and refreshing and delightful! It may have been the best time in all our collective childhoods – but it has also just brought out the gentle best in all of us as we contribute. Well.. YAY US! I say. I’m Australian & either lived in/visited every State and Territory here. As the eldest child, I was Child Rearing Lab Rat (1), so amongst other parenting innovations, I began Kindy one year early (aged 3 instead of 4), for only one year before Primary School.Thus I began school a year earlier than usual, aged 4. I experienced the ubiquitous “composite class” (2 different grades+one classroom+one tcher). So by my final year of high school, across a total 13 yr period I had attended a total of 13 establishments – but I did not EVER, even once, see or hear a game using “Olly Olly Oxenfree”… However I DID hear it on an episode of the 1960’s/US children’s episodic Sci-Fi TV show LOST IN SPACE, with always very scary music by constant Speilberg collaborator, John Williamson, on weekday afternoons right before “The Monkees” in that 4PM-6PM period. At this point I was in Grade 3 so this was 1966/7. The “Robot” is searching for “Will,” or a sulky “Dr. Smith”, or a “Penny” and it repeatedly calls out “Ollie, Ollie Oxenfree”! It’s use in the show seemed to imply it was a ploy to garner a response from a missing/lost person.
Sincere appreciation extended to everyone else who commented here.
Teresa jones:
December 5th, 2015 at 8:34 am
I so loved reading this. I remember the phrase, but never really knew the real words(sort of like singing a song and just filling in sounds that resembled the words) I have no idea why I looked this up today, but so glad I did because it took me back to a very good place and time in my life. So nice to share these precious memories with everyone! Thank you!!
Paul H:
December 15th, 2015 at 3:17 pm
I just heard kids dusing a song to dance with this line in it- in a hiphop song. I had only ever heard it once before. Dyan Cannon said it in the 1974 movie “The Last of Sheila” (a great mystery by the way). I never knew what it meant. Glad I found this bit of info.
And I miss those innocent days where we made u games and played outside til dark.
jetMouse:
April 15th, 2016 at 9:51 pm
Grew up in the 50s & 60s in California. We all used ollie, ollie oxen free and “come out come out where ever you are” What great times. We did get to play (without supervision) till it was getting dark. Makes me want to run and hide.
Charlie:
July 19th, 2016 at 5:37 pm
I think, Gordon, you shared almost exactly what I heard. As a child I was told by my Mother that “all outs are in free” was the last word of my 5-year-old uncle dying about 1905 in Oklahoma. He was delirious and apparently remembering a game of tag. I have concluded “ollie ollie oxen free” is how the term evolved over time with children slurring the call to come in, which was, “all outs are in free”, as someone else was tagged “it” and a new game was to begin.
jim:
September 11th, 2016 at 10:45 pm
I’m 60, grew up in the midwest, and always shouted Ollie Ollie outs in free.
Steve:
April 26th, 2017 at 8:26 pm
It’s definitely regional. I was born in 1943. We lived in North Hollywood, Calif. When I was 9 in 1952, we moved WAY out into farm country… to Reseda, Calif. Boy… that changed fast. As far back as I can remember we used to say “Ollie Ollie Oxen Free”, or however you wanted to spell it.
Betty McClanahan:
June 22nd, 2017 at 11:15 am
I agree with the writer who spoke of the courtesy expressed by each person, and seemed to speak from nostalgia re “Ollie Ollie Oxenfree”, or “Olly Olly………”. I don’t remember using the phrase in any childhood games, yet it is a familiar phrase. My reason for researching it is two-fold. One, to learn it’s true meaning and origin. (Ron Grimes’ German words seemed to make more sense to me. Ally ally auch sind frei.) Number two reason is darker. Just before or just after a jahadist commits and act of terror, the words he shouts, Allahu Akbar, somehow remind me of the innocent shouting of Ally Ally Oxenfree in childhood games.Just wondered if I was the only one who was thinking of the similarity, but knowing the distinct difference between the two.
I thoroughly enjoyed each comment.
Shari44:
March 9th, 2018 at 11:50 pm
I was in an contentious conversation with my x husband where we vehemently disagreed and I shouted to him “Ollie Ollie uxen free” – he didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. I asked him if her ever played hide and seek when a kid, which he hadn’t, never played child games. So after explaining that to him, the tone of the conversation dwindled never getting what I trying to say – like- I give up. I am now 74 yrs and remember these things from time to time being of Irish decent.
HotRod:
May 15th, 2018 at 5:58 pm
Fantastic comments! Brings back lots of fun memories. I grew up in Northwest Indiana in the 80’s and remember saying olly olly oxen free. All of the neighborhood kids said it but I don’t think any of us really knew what it meant. I do remember a lot of variety of slang and phrases within close proximity to where I lived. For example: I might say “toss” for throw but the next county people might say “chuck” for throw. Quite interesting to see how the words and phrases evolve historically and geographically.
Obie:
January 29th, 2020 at 11:50 pm
Thank you so much. This brought back so many good memories. I guess I’m showing my age, I’ll be seventy-four this year. Thanks again.
Anonymous:
February 5th, 2020 at 1:02 am
Lmao
Billy Erb:
February 5th, 2020 at 1:06 am
In West Middlesex it was the same! Lol
Tica:
May 5th, 2020 at 11:37 pm
Growing up in the Bottoms of Gary, Indiana, the 40’s, Negro at the time, we had such fun, running and singing, almost yodeling, “Olly, Olly, oxen free, new cucumber”. I have no idea where that came from. Not a care in the world, so much fun!!!
Marta:
January 16th, 2021 at 10:44 pm
Sandra, you cracked me up there!
Victoria Crisman:
January 29th, 2021 at 4:15 pm
I grew up in Connecticut and we said “Ollie Ollie Oxen Free, get off my father’s apple tree.”
I think the last bit about the apple tree was exclusive to my neighborhood, which had apple trees in a field.
This is a wonderful thread.
Jason:
February 7th, 2021 at 5:24 pm
I don’t even know how I ended up here, but anyway,
I was born in 1964 and we always said “ollie ollie Oxen Free. Out spell O U T !”
I still remember playing at night with my friends, probably until 10pm.
What a wonderful time to be children, so many beautiful memories.
I am so glad I grew up back then and not now….
DS:
February 13th, 2021 at 7:17 pm
Late 60s & early 70s, California (Bay Area): we shouted Ollie Ollie Oxen Free, up a tree, down a tree, in a tree, through a tree, around a tree, below a tree, above a tree (or as many tree variations as the moment inspired), then concluding with a resounding repeat of: Ollie Ollie Oxen Free! A tree was typically our home-base to be tagged after being found and having to run at top speed to that safety spot. We had plenty of fabulous oak trees plus groves of redwoods and also pine or fruit trees in some locations. My dad taught us to play Sardines: an especially good choice around dusk. Or indoors during a power outage. And oh so much quieter, less boisterous: that’s probably why a parent bothered to teach his kids a children’s game! Sardines meant less commotion and a chance to practice a different skill-set.
NT Lona:
July 12th, 2021 at 3:05 pm
The ‘oxen’ is really from the “outs-in” (sounds like) that you had mentioned earlier in another paragraph, e.g., “All ye outs, in, free, free, free” ~ well, we always said ‘free’ three times, so the far-away’ers could hear correctly, right?
StillCrazy:
April 13th, 2023 at 7:44 am
I looked up “Ollie, Ollie Entry, New Cucumber” trying to discover its origin. Why? I don’t know, just popped into my head and Googled it! I was 81 y/o yesterday and growing up in Boston area, in the 1940’s playing hide and seek, if you were “it” and some other kid in the neighborhood wanted to join the game, he became automatically “it”. So to restart the game we’d call out “Ollie, Ollie Entry, New Cucumber”, to which everyone came out from hiding to meet the new player. It’s interesting to see so many variations all meaning the same thing and used in the same or similar childhood games. Do kids these days talk to one another face to face?