Nursery Rhyme Series: Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down
And broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.

There have been many suggestions about what this rhyme could mean. In Pop Goes the Weasel: The Secret Meaning of Nursery Rhymes (2008) the author suggests that the rhyme records the attempt by King Charles I to reform the taxes on liquid measures. He was blocked by Parliament and so ordered that the volume of a Jack (1/8 pint) be reduced, but with the tax remaining the same. This meant that he still received more tax, despite Parliament’s veto. Hence Jack fell down and broke his crown (many pint glasses in the UK still have a line marking the 1/2 pint level with a crown above it). And Jill came tumbling after is then said refer to a gill (or 1/4 pint) which also reduced in volume as a consequence.

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