Where the Phrase “Polly Wants a Cracker” Came From

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Nabisco originally released the saltine cracker in 1876.  Their slogan for this new type of cracker was “Polly wants a cracker?”, which is where that saying came from. Saltine crackers were mildly successful after being released, but received a huge boost in popularity thanks to the Great Depression.  Saltines were a nice cheap, tasty filler to add to other foods such as watery soup, to make the meal more filling.

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10 comments

  • Hello… Who was Polly? You explained the cracker part, but what about Polly???

  • I wondered about this phrase a while back and tracked down the word “Polly” to the OED…. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Polly is a diminutive of Poll “as a female name, and name for a parrot,” and Poll, altered from Moll, familiar form of Mary, is the traditional name for any parrot.

    Probably the phrase came from people asking their parrot if it wanted a cracker, and then the parrot mimicking the words back in ‘parrot speak’.

    sounds plausible…?

  • except that this image dates from 1838, which may debunk that myth somewhat…

    http://i.stack.imgur.com/A72IY.gif

    • Daven Hiskey

      @Martin: Interesting. What is the source of that image specifically? If it truly predates it then Nabisco perhaps simply borrowed it for their ad campaigns, whether knowingly or not.

  • Polly Jackson was the name of a escaped slave who helped others escape through the Underground Railroad. She later settled in Ohio. She fought off and would kill slave catchers with a knife. The slur for slave catcher was used and the phrase was born.

  • Polly wants a cracker
    I think I should get off her first
    I think she wants some water
    To put out the blow torch

    It isn’t me
    We have some seed
    Let me clip
    Your dirty wings
    Let me take a ride
    Don’t cut yourself
    I want some help
    To please myself
    I’ve got some rope
    You have been told
    I promise you
    I have been true
    Let me take a ride
    Don’t cut yourself
    I want some help
    To please myself
    Polly wants a cracker
    Maybe she would like some food
    She asks me to untie her
    A chase would be nice for a few
    It isn’t me
    We have some seed
    Let me clip
    Your dirty wings
    Let me take a ride
    Don’t cut yourself
    I want some help
    To please myself
    I’ve got some rope
    You have been told
    I promise you
    I have been true
    Let me take a ride
    Don’t cut yourself
    I want some help
    To please myself

    Polly said
    Polly says…