Reader poll time: Settle this dispute.

The fingers of a human hand can be distinguished by the following names: thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, pinkie finger.

Question: Are there similar names for the toes of a human foot?

In other words, would big toe, index toe, middle toe, ring toe, and pinkie toe be accurate terms? Is “ring toe” appropriate despite there being no great cultural legacy of putting rings on said toe? Is “little toe” or “baby toe” more appropriate than “pinkie toe”? Is “index toe” sane?

Your thoughts in the comments, please.

17 August 2005

Comments

17 August | 13:23 | kelly

yes there is. went to market, stayed home, roast beef, none, and wee wee wee.

17 August | 15:58 | rebecca

Big toe and little toe have the starring roles. The rest, unlike their brethren of the hand, serve no specific or distinct purpose other than to support. They are simply supporting toes.

17 August | 17:23 | Samantha

I prefer the numbering system I learned from piano teachers:
thumb=1
index=2
middle=3
ring=4
pinkie=5

One can easily apply this system to the toes, starting with the big toe and moving out.

17 August | 23:39 | Katie

I just found this explanation of North America's favorite toe game, This Little Piggy, on the Fisher Price web site. Please note what Fisher Price calls the smallest toe.

This Little Piggy
This little piggy went to market, (wiggle the big toe)
This little piggy stayed home, (wiggle the second toe)
This little piggy had roast beef, (wiggle the third toe)
This little piggy had none, (wiggle the fourth toe)
And this little piggy cried, "Wee, wee, wee!" all the way home! (wiggle the baby toe)

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said:

Joshua Benton

Joshua Benton is the director of the Nieman Digital Journalism Project at Harvard University, among other things. Before that, he was a staff writer and columnist for The Dallas Morning News. (More.)