No idea what made me think of the childhood saying "Olly olly oxen free" but once I got that in my head the mystery of the words got the better of me. This phrase meaning "all clear" is a little sketchy as far as etymology goes. Some of the guesses at the origin are: All ye out come in free",All's out come in free" (Olly=All ye, oxen=come in, when heard in frantic children's voices). In the Midwest the phrase is often "Ole Ole Olsen's free". It is also close to the German phrase "Alle,alle auch sind frei" meaning everyone, everyone is also free. Do kids even play hide and seek anymore? I would love to go watch kids on the playground but a person can't really do that these days without arousing suspicion.
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