My dad's frequent fill in when asking me for something was 'Pass me the Thingummy Bob.' Or he'd say, "Where's that Hoojimmy Flick gone?'. He also gave me, Righty Tighty, which, as a kid, I thought of as a general 'let's get on with it' phrase. One day, when I said 'Righty Tighty', my engineer son answered, 'Lefty Lucy!' and I learned why my dad said it and
what it really meant. It's the way to remember the direction to turn something to tighten it up ~ Righty Tighty ~ and the way to undo it by turning it Lefty Lucy. Right- and left-handed spanners and hammers are of course non-existent, but nonetheless young apprentices were mercilessly sent on errands for them. Here's a little knee-bouncing celebration of all these workshop friends. Chant it, or sing it to the melody of Humpty Dumpty (if only Humpty had called up the workshop tools instead of those horses!)::
Lefty Lucy told Thingummy Bob, (knee-bounce baby) This is the way you loosen the job! A left-handed spanner ~ squeeeeeeak (sway baby over to your left)
A left-handed hammer ~ bang bang (bounce baby on your left knee
And that’s a start, it’s fallen apart! (slip between knees onto the floor) Spoken: Belt and braces give it a tug! (take baby's arms and playfully shake them )
Righty Tighty told Hoojimmy Flick, (knee-bounce baby) This is the way you tighten it quick!
A right-handed spanner - squeeeeeak (sway baby over to your right) A right-handed hammer - bang bang (bounce baby on your right knee)
And that's the end of a very good mend! (knee-bounce on both knees) Spoken: Belt and braces, give it a hug. (hug baby)
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