Mr. Fox, what time is it?, or What's the time, Mr. Wolf?, is a popular tag game in many English-speaking regions, or some former British colonies. There are quite a sum of variants, but the basic element is that players ask the tagger the time and the tagger replies with an hour of a day, such as five o'clock. While its origin is not very clear, but its early rules and game plays were recorded in 1899 book from London in the United Kingdom as "Pray, Mr. Fox, what time is it?", and in another 1917 book from the University of California in the United States as "If you please, Mr. Fox, what time is it?".

The games evolved with new names other than fox, such as wolf and shark, or using different question words, such as "What's the time?", or moving the Mr. animal to the end of the question.

The game is popular in many parts of the world, such as Australia, Canada, the English-speaking Caribbean, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The 1899 book is "A History of Nursery Rhymes" by Percy B. Green. The author described Mr. Fox's "Twelve o'clock" was "the sly and foxy answer to the question", The tagger need to manipulating the hours in order to achieve a successful "hunt".

The game was introduced to physical education as early as 1917,

Original rules

Pray, Mr. Fox, what time is it

In 1899 "Pray, Mr. Fox, what time is it?", here were the rules.

  1. Although the game can be played with two players, it is better with four or more players.
  2. Choose one player to be Mr. Fox, who stands at one end of the playing field.
  3. The other players stand at the opposite end.
  4. The players chant in unison, "What time is it, Mr. Fox?"
  5. Mr. Fox then answers with an hour, between one and twelve, for example, "Five o'clock."
  6. Except when it’s "Twelve o'clock", the players move towards Mr. Fox, step by step, counting aloud as they go. So, if Mr. Fox says "Five o'clock", they count "One, two, three, four, five".
  7. The players continue asking "What time is it, Mr. Fox?" and play again until Mr. Fox calls "Twelve o'clock".
  8. At "Twelve o'clock", Mr. Fox chases and attempts to tag a player.
  9. The players run to avoid being tagged.
  10. When one of the players is tagged, that player becomes Mr. Fox for the next round.

In British culture, the fox is considered a clever creature. Mr. Fox must use his intelligence to choose the right answer and timing in order to "hunt". In the above game, it is possible that Mr. Fox may be unable to tag anyone, causing the round to become boring. To address this, the original concept of a den, or safe place, is reintroduced to shorten the round. For example, the players could return to the starting point, which serves as a safe den.

Others

It is not uncommon for "Mr. Fox" to be allowed to look around at the other players, before answering the question; especially if there is a rule involving penalties applied to "Mr. Fox" if a player reaches "Mr. Fox" before "Dinner time" is called.

There is also a simpler version of the game where "Mr. Fox" faces the other players, who must remain stationary until "dinner time" is called. If any player moves on a time of day being called, that player becomes "Mr. Fox".

In another version, Mr. Fox holds a dandelion seed head and blows on it. The other players dance around them, taunting them by calling out "What's the time, Mr. Fox?" After each blow, Mr. Fox calls times in ascending order (e.g. "1 o'clock", "two o'clock", etc) until all the seed head has been blown away. "Mr. Fox" then calls out "Dinner time!" and chases the other players, aiming to tag them before they can claim sanctuary at predesignated points called "Bar". The players claim "Bar" by yelling out "B - A - R Bar" and touching the safety point. The skill is in deciding when the seed head is going to be completely blown away, as the players cannot run away until this happens. It could happen after one blow by "Mr. Fox", or several. The first player tagged becomes Mr. Fox for the next round of the game.

This game can also be played on a hopscotch court. The players chant "What's the time Mr. Fox" and the fox replies with a time. The players hop that number of spaces forwards on the hopscotch court. If "Mr. Fox" answers with "It's dinner time" the players try to run back to the beginning of the hopscotch court before they are caught by "Mr. Fox".

A variant also exists in which the tagged players become wolves themselves, helping to tag the other players. The original fox, however, still calls the numbers.

Similar games

Similar games include Lupo Delle Ore in Italy, and Captain Midnight in the United States, in which everyone has to start running at midnight. The game also bears some resemblance to Red light, green light and Dahrumasan ga koronda.

In music

  • The game was the basis for a 1991 song of "What's the Time, Mr. Wolf?" by New Zealand band Southside of Bombay, which appeared on the soundtrack of the film Once Were Warriors (1994). It peaked at number three on the New Zealand Singles Chart for four weeks following the movie's release, finishing the year as the eighth-best-selling single and earning a gold sales certification.
  • What's the Time Mr. Wolf? is the title of a 2007 album by British band Noisettes.
  • What Time Is It, Mr. Fox? is the name of a cabaret art rock band from Boston.
  • "What's the Time Mr. Wolf?" is a song by The Scaramanga Six, released on their 2017 album Chronica and the Wiggles, released on their 2019 album, Party Time!.

In print

  • The game has inspired children's books with this and similar titles. One was published in 2003 and illustrated by Annie Kubler (), a second, published in 2007, was written and illustrated by Gemma Raynor (). Harcourt published What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile (2002), written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Doug Cushman.

This is the title of a short story by Lauren Groff, first published in the New Yorker on April 27, 2021. It is also included in the author's collection of short stories, "Brawler", published by Penguin Random House in 2026 ()

In film

  • The 1983 New Zealand film Utu, an historic drama depicting a Maori exacting revenge on English settlers in the 1870s, includes a scene where Maori leader Te Wheke beheads a vicar in a church, then places the bloodied head on the pulpit, saying the line "What's the time, Mr. Wolf?"
  • The 2019 Guy Ritchie film The Gentlemen includes a scene whilst Ray is in a tower block, some young street urchins are goading the gangster guarding the car, they spot his watch and one says "What's the time Mr. Wolf ?"

In television

  • The Australian children's show Bluey had moments where the children played this game in the episode "Shadowlands".
  • A TV series OmoBerry had an episode titled "What Time is it Mr. Fox?"

References