Criss Cross Applesauce is a traditional children's rhyme long used while tracing shapes on a child's back, with lines about crosses, applesauce, spiders crawling up, and a big squeeze. Passed down through playgrounds and classrooms rather than credited to a single author, it survives because almost every listener recognises the routine instantly. In recent years, short clips of the rhyme have circulated online as a meme sound, where creators reuse its innocent, teasing tone to undercut funny, awkward, or unexpectedly tense moments.