Cross Patch, Draw the Latch
Cross patch, draw the latch,
Sit by the fire and spin;
Take a cup and drink it up,
Then call your neighbors in.
Not every nursery rhyme is about nonsense or games. Cross Patch, Draw the Latch feels more like peeking into a cottage. A grumpy “cross patch” shuts the door, sits by the fire to spin, takes a sip, and finally invites the neighbors in. It’s short, homely, and just a little teasing.
Origins and Meaning
The rhyme was already in nursery collections by the 1800s, though its language hints at an older life in oral tradition. The word cross-patch itself was an old nickname for someone sulky or bad-tempered — a mix of “cross” for cranky and “patch” for fool. That makes the rhyme half-tease, half-lesson: a cranky mood turns warmer when you sit by the fire, take a cup in hand, and share time with others.
Victorian illustrators loved the domestic picture it painted: a figure by the hearth with yarn or a spinning wheel, a door latch drawn, and a room ready to welcome company. Some versions even end with “Then let good temper in,” spelling out the moral. Whether sung quietly as a round or read aloud by the fire, the rhyme was a small reminder that hospitality and good humor can soften even the sulkiest mood.
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