'A-Dillar:A-Dollar'

scholar (n.) Old English scolere "student," from Medieval Latin scholaris, noun use of Late Latin scholaris "of a school," from Latin schola (see school (n.1)). Greek scholastes meant "one who lives at ease." The Medieval Latin word was widely borrowed (Old French escoler, French écolier, Old High German scuolari, German Schüler). The modern English word might be a Middle English reborrowing from French. Fowler points out that in British English it typically has been restricted to those who attend a school on a scholarship.

My mother was a good singer and one of my earliest recollections is of us sitting together by the kitchen fire as she went through the Mother Goose collection of nursery rhymes which she knew by heart. These sing-song verses were first gathered as a book in the 18th century to edify those children whose parents could afford to have them educated. The one entitled 'The Ten O'Clock Scholar sticks in my mind because it was a long time before I could understand what a scholar was. As it turns out a 'diller' and a 'dollar' are north country words referring to those who are poor learners and the gist of the rhyme is a sarcastic message from a teacher to urge pupils not to waste 'learning time'.

The house where I was born, 111 Ladysmith Rd on 14th June, 1934, in the front bedroom (2nd house from the right.). No telephones then!!!