# Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man
**"Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man"** (also known as "Patty Cake" or "Pattycake") is an English nursery rhyme and hand-clapping game in which a child asks a baker to bake a cake as fast as he can, pat it, prick it, mark it with a letter, and put it in the oven. It is one of the oldest surviving English nursery rhymes, with its earliest recorded version appearing in print in 1698.[1](https://dspace.kmf.uz.ua/jspui/bitstream/123456789/286/3/Kohutics_A_English_nursery_rhymes_as_a_source_of_motivation_2020.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Earliest record | The earliest recorded version appears in Thomas d'Urfey's play *The Campaigners*, 1698[1](https://dspace.kmf.uz.ua/jspui/bitstream/123456789/286/3/Kohutics_A_English_nursery_rhymes_as_a_source_of_motivation_2020.pdf) |
| Status | One of the oldest surviving English nursery rhymes[1](https://dspace.kmf.uz.ua/jspui/bitstream/123456789/286/3/Kohutics_A_English_nursery_rhymes_as_a_source_of_motivation_2020.pdf) |
| How it is used | The rhyme is accompanied by a clapping game, played with a baby's or partner's hands[2](https://www.rhymes.org.uk/pat_a_cake_pat_a_cake.htm) • [3](https://nurseryrhymes.info/pat-a-cake-pat-a-cake-bakers-man/) |
| Common modern text | "Pat it and prick it and mark it with 'B', and put it in the oven for Baby and me"[4](https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/5429363.pdf) |
| Rhyme scheme | aabb, with an interior consonant rhyme in the third line ("pat it and prick it")[4](https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/5429363.pdf) |
| Themes | Family and food: a child orders a cake at the baker's for a baby brother or sister[4](https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/5429363.pdf) |
## The 1698 record
The rhyme first appears in writing in *The Campaigners*, a comedy by the English playwright Thomas d'Urfey, published in 1698. The line is spoken by "the affected tattling nurse" to her infant charge:
> ...and pat a cake, baker's man, as quickly as I am able I will master it, then prick it over and over, and toss it into the oven.[5](https://scholarworks.iu.edu/iuswrrest/api/core/bitstreams/8f149dd4-17fa-4ab8-a455-4418335a14c0/content)
According to the folklorists Iona and Peter Opie, whose *Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes* (1951, 2nd edn. 1997) is the standard scholarly reference for the genre, the character who declaims the rhyme embodies old age and tradition, and thereby points to a long oral tradition of using the song to entertain and teach children before it was ever written down.[6](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Catalina-Millan-Scheiding/publication/305681849_Nursery_rhymes_pieces_of_the_children%27s_literature_puzzle_in_translation/links/595522f50f7e9b591cd73729/Nursery-rhymes-pieces-of-the-childrens-literature-puzzle-in-translation.pdf) Most English nursery rhymes were not written down until the 18th century, when children's publishing began to move from education toward entertainment; the first English collection, *Tommy Thumb's Songbook*, appeared in 1744.[1](https://dspace.kmf.uz.ua/jspui/bitstream/123456789/286/3/Kohutics_A_English_nursery_rhymes_as_a_source_of_motivation_2020.pdf)
## Text and variations
The version most commonly sung today runs:
> Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man,
> Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
> Pat it and prick it and mark it with "B",
> And put it in the oven for baby and me.[4](https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/5429363.pdf)
The letter marked on the cake and the name attached to it vary across versions and over time. An 1860 printed chapbook gives "Prick it and prick it, / And mark it with T, / Then toss it in the oven, / For Tommy and me."[7](https://digital.library.mcgill.ca/images/chapbooks/pdfs/PN970_B57_N8_1860.pdf) Other collected versions substitute "Mix it, roll it" for the patting and pricking lines.[8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTEcfgjfASY) The practice the third line describes, decorating a cake with the name or initial of a child, continues in cake-making today.[2](https://www.rhymes.org.uk/pat_a_cake_pat_a_cake.htm)
The expression "baker's man" is unusual in modern English, where "baker" would ordinarily be used.[4](https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/5429363.pdf)
## The clapping game
The rhyme is played as much as it is recited. It is always accompanied by a clapping game, and the actions that go with it, patting, rolling, and marking motions performed on a baby's hands or between two players' hands, are thought to account for the rhyme's transmission from one generation to the next.[2](https://www.rhymes.org.uk/pat_a_cake_pat_a_cake.htm) It is used with babies and toddlers, who clap along with the rhythm, and it also serves as a way of teaching very young children their own names, since the marked letter is often replaced with the child's initial.[3](https://nurseryrhymes.info/pat-a-cake-pat-a-cake-bakers-man/) • [9](https://www.thoughtco.com/classic-nursery-rhymes-4158623) Teachers of young children use the same substitution technique, singing the rhyme with each child's name and the first letter of it.[10](https://ccea.org.uk/downloads/docs/ccea-asset/Resource/Toys%2C%20Games%20and%20Rhymes%20100%20Years%20Ago%20-%20Foundation%20Stage.pdf)
The rhyme remains in active use in children's media and publishing: interactive board-book adaptations with sliders and recorded sing-along audio, aimed at ages 0 to 2, continue to appear.[11](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/796175/pat-a-cake-sing-along-with-me-by-illustrated-by-yu-hsuan-huang/9781536241532/)
## References
1. [Kohutics, A. (2020). English Nursery Rhymes as a Source of Motivation. University of Kosice repository.](https://dspace.kmf.uz.ua/jspui/bitstream/123456789/286/3/Kohutics_A_English_nursery_rhymes_as_a_source_of_motivation_2020.pdf)
2. [Pat a cake Pat a cake Rhyme, Nursery Rhymes Lyrics and Origins (rhymes.org.uk)](https://www.rhymes.org.uk/pat_a_cake_pat_a_cake.htm)
3. [Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake, Baker's Man – Lyrics & Meaning, NurseryRhymes.info](https://nurseryrhymes.info/pat-a-cake-pat-a-cake-bakers-man/)
4. [Stephenson, J. Challenges and solutions in the translation of Spanish songs into English, Dialnet](https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/5429363.pdf)
5. [Children's Folklore: A Source Book, Indiana University ScholarWorks](https://scholarworks.iu.edu/iuswrrest/api/core/bitstreams/8f149dd4-17fa-4ab8-a455-4418335a14c0/content)
6. [Millan-Scheiding, C. Nursery rhymes: pieces of the children's literature puzzle in translation](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Catalina-Millan-Scheiding/publication/305681849_Nursery_rhymes_pieces_of_the_children%27s_literature_puzzle_in_translation/links/595522f50f7e9b591cd73729/Nursery-rhymes-pieces-of-the-childrens-literature-puzzle-in-translation.pdf)
7. [Nursery Rhymes chapbook (c. 1860), McGill Digital Library](https://digital.library.mcgill.ca/images/chapbooks/pdfs/PN970_B57_N8_1860.pdf)
8. [Pat A Cake / Patty Cake Hand Game – Nursery Rhyme Songs for Babies, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTEcfgjfASY)
9. [The Origins of Classic Nursery Rhymes & Lullabies, ThoughtCo](https://www.thoughtco.com/classic-nursery-rhymes-4158623)
10. [Toys, Games and Rhymes 100 Years Ago – Foundation Stage, CCEA](https://ccea.org.uk/downloads/docs/ccea-asset/Resource/Toys%2C%20Games%20and%20Rhymes%20100%20Years%20Ago%20-%20Foundation%20Stage.pdf)
11. [Pat-a-Cake: Sing Along With Me!, Penguin Random House](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/796175/pat-a-cake-sing-along-with-me-by-illustrated-by-yu-hsuan-huang/9781536241532/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Children's, novelty, parody, and traditional children's songs › Nursery rhymes and traditional children's songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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