What Are Little Boys Made Of?

"What Are Little Boys Made Of?" dates back to the early 19th century with authorship widely attributed to the English poet Robert Southey (1774-1843), though he never formally claimed it. The commonly known version is often a segment of a longer poem titled "What Folks Are Made Of" or "What All the World Is Made Of," which included descriptions of what various individuals—babies, sailors, older men and women—were composed of. The phrase "snips and snails" has been a point of historical curiosity; in the earliest known versions, boys were described as being made of "snips" or "snigs," with "snigs" being a Cumbrian dialect term for a small eel. Over time, "snips" has been interpreted variously as "small pieces of things" or "odds and ends" that boys might collect. More modern variations sometimes substitute "snips and snails" with other creatures like frogs, snakes, or slugs to make the imagery more recognizable to children.