Why Is It Criss Cross Applesauce?

Criss-cross applesauce refers to a way that kids sit on the floor. They sit on their fannies with their legs crossed in front of them. When I was a kid, we used to sit the same way. Only when I was little, the teachers called it sitting "Indian style." Today, the phrase Indian style is considered offensive.

Where did the term Criss Cross applesauce come from?

Sitting on the floor Indian style with one's legs crossed is a reference to Native Americans' habit of sitting that way, a practice recorded as far back as the journals of French traders. Increasingly, though, the expression is being replaced with the term criss-cross applesauce.

Why do people criss cross applesauce?

Criss-Cross Applesauce refers to sitting cross-legged on the floor. Today, the phrase Criss-Cross Applesauce is being taught in school environments as a replacement for the politically incorrect 'Indian Style' phrase.