Hokey Pokey Struggles

You put your right foot in
You take your right foot out
You put your right foot in
And you shake it all about
You do the hokey pokey
And you turn yourself around
That’s what it’s all about

And so it goes.

This song bothered me as a child because I couldn’t figure out how the front of me got dubbed “in” and behind me got dubbed “out.”

“Put my right foot in where?” I would say. (I’m going out on a limb here, but am confident I am not the only one who experienced this confusion.)

Then someone said – Put your right foot in THE CIRCLE! Great! (If there’s a circle.)

There are just things that don’t quite fit, but they’re close enough. The hokey pokey prepositions are one of those things.