Me and the Minister's Wife Coost Out Lyrics
A Scots counting-out rhyme about a quarrel with the minister's wife, ending with a nonsense answer and out goes one player.
Me and the Minister's Wife Coost Out
Me and the minister's wife coost out.
Guess ye what it was about?
Black puddin', dish-clout,
Eerie, orrie, you are out!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/me-and-the-ministers-wife-coost-out/
- Type
- Counting Rhymes
- Tune
- Chanted at a quick pace, one point to each beat
- Best for ages
- 4 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Guess ye what it was about? | Hold your palms up and shrug. |
| Black puddin', dish-clout | Wave an imaginary cloth in the air. |
| you are out! | Point at the last player and step back. |
What Does Me and the Minister's Wife Coost Out Mean?
This is a counting-out rhyme in Scots. The speaker says that they and the minister's wife coost out, which is the Scots way of saying fell out or quarrelled, and then asks the listener to guess the reason. The answer is a pair of nonsense things, black puddin' and a dish-clout, which is a dishcloth.
The silly reason makes everyone laugh before the last line sends one player out. Eerie, orrie is a counting phrase with no meaning, used for its sound.
History and Origin
Robert Ford prints the rhyme in Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories, in the section of counting-out rhymes. The spelling is Scots: coost for cast, ye for you and puddin' for pudding.
Learning Activities
- Guess the reason: take turns guessing silly reasons for a quarrel and say them in rhyme.
- Scots words: learn coost out, ye and puddin' and use them in a sentence.
- Pointing game: stand in a circle and point at each child in turn while saying the lines.
- Draw the dish-clout: draw a dishcloth and a black pudding side by side.