"Pop" goes the weasel?

[skippyroo]

Why did the weasel go "pop"

[mrsdanvers]

Pop here means to pawn. The song is about spending all your money on boozing. So: 'Up and down the City Road' which runs between the Angel Islington and Old Street in London, 'In and out of the Eagle' a pub still to be found on the corner of City Road and Shepherdess Walk, 'That's the way the money goes' spending all your hard-earned on drinking, 'Pop goes the weasle' you pawn your weasle. Probably not referring to a rodent here, the best guess anyone's come up with is the a weasle was a slang term for a tailor's iron. So, you hawk the tools of your trade to get another pint...Easily done.

[murph101]

What the hell else is there to do if you're a weasel???

[adzy31]

isn't the other version "half a pound of tuppeny rice, half a pound of treacle, that's the way the money goes....." ? what has that got to do with popping a weasle?

[adzy31]

not rice, sorry, something that sounds like it maybe, I haven't heard the thing in years :-P

[agamen]

Anthony Newley in his jazzed up version of rhyme tell's us "Because they upped the price of tuppny rice to fourpence".

[Londonbabe]

It's cockney rhyming slang. Weasel is a corruption of Whistle. Whistle & flute = suit. it used to be common practice to pawn your sunday suit to pay for your week's drinking, and then reclaim it once paid to wear it in church. After the service it was straight back down the pawnbroker's again.

[Cartaphilus]

It's actually Weasel & Stoat 'Coat'. The particular part of the song is referring to pawning your coat!