Origin of nursery rhyme?

[prospector]

What is the origin of the rhyme ....

Half a pound of tuppenny rice, half a pound of treacle

That's the way the money goes, pop goes the weasel.


In this context what was the 'weasel'?

[shaneystar2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_Goes_the_Weas el
Scroll down a bit for some info.

[bernardo]

Rhyming slang
"Weasel and stoat" = coat
"Pop" = to pawn

[prospector]

thank you for these answers

[BagPussAA]

The original of this rhyme used to be:

'Up and down the City Road
In and out the Eagle
Thats the way the money goes
Pop goes the weasel'

It was about all the workers spending their hard earned money in the pub and having to pawn things to make do