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What does olly, olly oxen free mean?
When I was a child playing hide and seek with the neighbourhood children, we used to yell “Olly,olly oxen free!” But we never really knew what it meant. What is the origin of this expression?
“Olly, olly oxen free” is a phrase used in children’s games generally used to indicate that people who are hiding (in a game of hide and seek, for example) can safely come out into the open.