Heebie-jeebies or Heebie Jeebies is an American English idiom used to describe a particular type of anxiety usually related to a certain person or place. For example, "He gives me the heebie jeebies," or in other words "He makes me uncomfortably nervous." It can also refer to a particular form of intense apprehension, verging on horror. The phrase is often used to indicate that the speaker cannot determine what exactly is making him or her apprehensive, only that something is.
Murder Method
In the novel, the murderer killed each of his victims in accordance with this rhyme.
Guest | Method | Relation to Rhyme |
Anthony Marston | Poison | First to die; seemingly choked on his drink |
Mrs. Ethel Rogers | Poison | Second to die; never woke up after getting a sleeping pill. |
General MacArthur | Blunt Force | Third to die; said he would never leave and resigned himself to his own death, being bludgeoned with a lifesaver or similar object |
Thomas Rogers | Ax | Fourth to die; was killed while chopping up sticks for firelighting |
Emily Brent | Poison | Fifth to die; poison injection made to look like a bee sting |
Justice Wargrave | Firearm | Sixth to (apparently) die; shot while wearing robes and wig to set law theme( Faked death) |
Dr. Armstrong | Drowning | Seventh to die; red herring was believing the murderer to be his ally |
William Blore | Blunt Force | Eighth to die; crushed by a marble ornament shaped like a bear |
Philip Lombard | Firearm | Ninth to die; was shot on the beach on a sunny day |
Vera Claythorne | Rope | Last to die:Hung himself |
Variations
In the original publication of And Then There Were None Christie used the rhyme with its original name, "Ten Little Niggers", written by Frank J. Green in 1869. This was later changed to "Ten Little Indians" but due to the ethical sensitivity of both of these words, modern day version use "soldiers", "sailors" or "teddy bears". As of the 2007 publication of And Then There Were None, the rhyme is known as "Ten Little Soldier Boys". In the 2005 game version, the rhyme was called "Ten Little Sailor Boys".
Instead of the line, "One got frizzled up", another variation has been: "One shot the other", which would also be fitting in the context of the novel.
Instead of the line, "He went out and hanged himself", another variation has been: "He got married", which is the line Vera thought ended the poem shortly before hanging herself.