Olly olly oxen free - wikipedia Olly olly oxen free For the 1978 film, see Olly Olly Oxen Free ( film ). Olly olly oxen free ( and variants : olly olly umphrey, olly olly ee, outtie outtie let 's be free, olly olly oxen tree, all - y all - y all set free, All - Ye All - Ye In Come Free. olly olly in come free, ally alley ocean free, olly olly ogden free, etc. ) is a catchphrase used in children 's games such as hide and seek, capture the flag, or kick the can to indicate that players who are hiding can come out into the open without losing the game, that the position of the sides in a game has changed ( as in which side is in the field or which side is at bat or `` up '' in baseball or kickball ), or, alternatively, that the game is entirely over. Cassidy and Hall write that the phrase may be derived from all ye, all ye outs in free, all the outs in free, or possibly calling all the `` outs '' in free ; in other words, all who are out may come in without penalty. Various calls used for such purposes have gone by the collective name of `` ollyoxalls '' in some places. Tukey and Rowell speculate that the phrase may be a corruption of a hypothetical and ungrammatical German phrase alle, alle, auch sind frei ( all, all, are also free ). Another possible origin might be the Greek language. Óloi óloi éxo ( ολει ολει εξον ) would translate to `` everybody everybody out. '' In popular culture This section appears to contain trivial, minor, or unrelated references to popular culture. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject 's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances ; add references to reliable sources if possible, otherwise delete it. ( September 2017 ) Perry Como released a novelty song in 1941 entitled `` Ollie Ollie Outs in Free '' The Star Trek episode Miri, the red head boy says `` But they do n't see us. We hide. Olly olly oxen free ! '' ; CHILDREN : `` Olly olly oxen free ! Olly olly oxen free ! Olly olly oxen free ! '' A 1978 Katharine Hepburn film is titled Olly Olly Oxen Free The band R.E.M. use this phrase in their 1992 hit song Drive, where they sing `` Ollie ollie ollie ollie ollie, Ollie ollie in come free, baby. '' In Seinfeld Season 7 Episode 8 ( 1995 ), when Newman was running toward the pool to jump in, he yelled the phrase In the 2004 album Imaginarium : Songs from the Neverhood first disc, track number 2 is named `` Olley Oxen Free '', from the video game The Neverhood. In the 2016 film Lavender where the children play hide and seek and use the term `` olly olly oxen free '' and Jane as a child repeats the term as she falls asleep. The 2016 supernatural mystery graphic adventure video game Oxenfree is named for the expression, and refers to the phrase `` all the outs in free '' in - game. References Jump up ^ Opie, Iona and Peter. Lore and Language of Schoolchildren. Oxford : Clarendon, 1959 p. 143 ; Bronner, Simon. American Children 's Folklore. Little Rock : August House, 1988 p.p. 178 Jump up ^ Tabler, Dave ( June 8, 2010 ). `` Ollie Ollie In Come Free ! ''. appalachianhistory.net. Dave Tabler. Archived from the original on 2010 - 06 - 18. Retrieved May 20, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Tukey, Paul Boardway ; Rowell, Victoria ( 2012 ). Tag, Toss & Run : 40 Classic Lawn Games. Storey Pub. pp. 13 --. ISBN 9781603425605. Retrieved 13 September 2015. Jump up ^ Cassidy, Frederick Gome ; and Joan Hall, `` Ole Ole Olson All In Free '', another way of saying it is oll - e oll - e ox - and - free Dictionary of American Regional English, ( 1985 ) Vol III ( I-O ), p. 874. Jump up ^ In Portsmouth, England for example. Opie, Iona and Peter. Lore and Language of Schoolchildren. Oxford : Clarendon, 1959 p. 143 Jump up ^ Macfarlane, Malcolm ; Crossland, Ken ( 2012 - 05 - 10 ). Perry Como : A Biography and Complete Career Record. McFarland. pp. 26 --. ISBN 9781476600246. Retrieved 13 September 2015. Jump up ^ http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/12.htm Jump up ^ Mann, William J. ( 2006 - 10 - 03 ). Kate : The Woman Who Was Hepburn. Henry Holt and Company. pp. 487 --. ISBN 9780805076257. Retrieved 13 September 2015. Jump up ^ http://www.metrolyrics.com/drive-lyrics-rem.html Jump up ^ `` Seinfeld Scripts - The Pool Guy ''. SeinfeldScripts. Jump up ^ `` VGMdb - Imaginarium : Songs from the Neverhood ''. Retrieved 2 September 2017. Jump up ^ http://www.variety.com/2016/film/reviews/lavender-film-review-1201756722 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Olly_olly_oxen_free&oldid=801139414 '' Categories : Children 's street culture Catchphrases Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2016 Articles with trivia sections from September 2017 Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 17 September 2017, at 22 : 15. About Wikipedia

Question: where did ollie ollie oxen free come from
Answer: the phrase may be derived from all ye, all ye outs in free, all the outs in free, or possibly calling all the "outs" in free; in other words, all who are out may come in without penalty