This Little Eggy
I was with my sweet friend and many of her 12 children, and I was goofing off with the younger ones, running, chasing. With tiny Abdulaziz, I started playing with his toes.
“This little . . . ” I started, and then caught myself in horror. The next word is “piggy” and my friends are devout Muslims.
She just laughed.
She said “Oh we do this too! We say ‘this little eggy went to market and this little eggy stayed home'”.
Oh! Thank goodness! Every child around the world loves that game; I’m so glad I can continue to play it here!
11 Comments »
Leave a reply to intlxpatr Cancel reply
Recent Comments
Catherine on Donna Leon Crossing Cultu… intlxpatr on Ignoring the Law thani on Ignoring the Law Anon. on British Soldier Kidnapped, Esc… Reeva Mills on Cahors to Bordeaux, Preparing… Wikipedia Donate Button
Amazina
Early Voting in Florida
Here There and Everywhere 
hahahahaha 🙂
In Turkey the piggies are birds :-).
“The next word is “piggy” and my friends are devout Muslims.”
What’s wrong with saying “piggy”?
3baid – I thought it would be insensitive, if not totally politically incorrect. Maybe I am wrong? Isn’t a pig considered haram?
It’s haram if you eat it, not haram as an entity.
I agree with 3baid. Say it out loud whenever you feel like it. ;P
I can imagine a piggy trying to get all the way home… but not an egg. Unless it’s a really bad egg and knows the back streets.
3baid & MacaholiQ8: really? Having just had a pig experience of my own, I must say that the reactions of a number of friends here in Beirut (Muslim and non) gave me the impression that it could go either way.
And what about dogs – what if it were “this little doggy”? I hear dog-related insults (on the streets – not from my friends!), of the ibn kelb etc. variety, but no ibn khanzeer’ing.
3baid, MacaholicQ8 and Moocherx – I’m sorry, this whole discussion is cracking me up. Oops! Just like this little eggy!
Here is my rationale – in our book, Jesus declares all foods “clean”, and his disciple Paul explains:
“20Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
22So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” Romans 14:20
So 3baid, you are totally right, it is just a piggy, not something eaten, buy why would I take any chance on offending my brother or sister over something so little? Eggy works just as fine for making the kids giggle and shriek with mock terror. 🙂
In the same way, dogs can be referred to as “cute doggies” or used in the offensive context when someone calls someone else a SOB, no?
All animals are basically God’s creations, but if you still prefer avoiding ‘piggy’, I suggest using the word ‘kitty’ ;]
3baid! No! SOB is very very offensive! Maybe among men, like bikers or cowboys it MIGHT be used casually, but SOB is very insulting. It implies your mother was loose!
I know what it means! XD
I was trying to make a point but oh nevermind 😛