Oggy Oggy Oggy
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The Oggy Oggy Oggy (or possibly Oggie Oggie Oggie) chant and its numerous variations are often heard at sporting events, political rallies and around boy scout and girl guide campfires.
The usual form of the chant consists of two groups, one shouting the word "Oggy!" and the other group shouting the word "Oi!" Often a single individual will shout "Oggy" and everyone else will shout the reply. The words are shouted according to the following pattern.
- Oggy Oggy Oggy!
- Oi Oi Oi!
- Oggy Oggy Oggy!
- Oi Oi Oi!
- Oggy!
- Oi!
- Oggy!
- Oi!
- Oggy Oggy Oggy!
- Oi Oi Oi!
One possible theory for the origin of the chant stems from Cornwall. An Oggy is a slang term for a Cornish pasty and the tin-miners' wives would shout "Oggy Oggy Oggy" when delivering pasties to their husbands.
In the 1970s the Welsh folk singer and comedian Max Boyce popularised the chant in order to excite the crowd at his concerts. It then began to be adopted by Welsh Rugby union crowds at international matches. Soon it spread to rugby crowds at club level and eventually to many other sporting occasions at all levels.
When Margaret Thatcher came to power in Britain in 1979 a variation of the chant ("Maggie Maggie Maggie, Out Out Out!") was adopted by some of her opponents.
The actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, who comes from Wales, quoted the chant in her acceptance speech when she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the movie Chicago in 2003.
The chant has also spawned a variation used by Australian sporting crowds ("Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi! Oi! Oi!").