Why frogs? - Wordsmith.org

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#114208 - 10/21/03 11:42 PM Why frogs?
hev addict Registered: 01/28/02 Posts: 477 Loc: Sydney, Australia	I was reading a book last night which said (something along the lines of) ".. and I was frog-marched down the hallway". (I can't remember the exact quote, and now I can't find it... d'oh!) Anyone got any ideas about why the frogs were being marched, as opposed to any other animal? And how were the frogs marching? Have you ever seen a frog march? They's jumping, leaping and - at a stretch - hopping, but I ain't never seen them marching.
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#114209 - 10/21/03 11:53 PM Re: Why frogs?
sjmaxq Carpal Tunnel Registered: 07/20/03 Posts: 3230 Loc: Te Ika a Maui	Here's one explanation: http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2003/09/frogmarch.html _________________________ noho ora mai http://maxqnzs.com/References.html
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#114210 - 10/22/03 12:14 AM Re: Why frogs?
hev addict Registered: 01/28/02 Posts: 477 Loc: Sydney, Australia	Thanks Max... Interesting, I can see the frog imagery now, but it definitely wasn't the impression I got from the book, as I recall reading it. Better go find it again, and re-imagine what was actually going on at the time.
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#114211 - 10/22/03 04:09 PM frogmarch in action
tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Registered: 04/03/00 Posts: 10463 Loc: this too shall pass	here's an interesting citation: http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1061835,00.html
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#114212 - 10/22/03 08:42 PM Re: frogmarch in action
hev addict Registered: 01/28/02 Posts: 477 Loc: Sydney, Australia	Thanks tsuwm, that's kinda the same context that was in the book I was reading. Can't imagine two people actually dragging her by the arms up the aisle, with her feet dragging behind. "Oooh, don't drag my (cross out inappropriate colours) [white / cream / stucco / mother-of-pearl] wedding dress on the floor..."
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#114213 - 10/22/03 09:56 PM Re: frogmarch in action
Jackie Carpal Tunnel Registered: 03/15/00 Posts: 11578 Loc: Louisville, Kentucky	Speaking of interesting: http://www.frogmarch.com/ Bet they're British! From the etymology online dic.: Frog-march (1871) originated among London police and referred to their method of moving "a drunken or refractory prisoner" by carrying him face-down between four people, each holding a limb; the connection with frog perhaps being the notion of going along belly-down. By the 1930s, the verb was used in ref. to the much more efficient (but less frog-like) method of getting someone in an arm-behind-the-back hold and hustling him or her along like that. http://www.etymonline.com/f5etym.htm
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#114214 - 10/22/03 10:07 PM Re: frogmarch in action
sjmaxq Carpal Tunnel Registered: 07/20/03 Posts: 3230 Loc: Te Ika a Maui	Thanks for the mantle, ma'am. _________________________ noho ora mai http://maxqnzs.com/References.html
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#114215 - 10/23/03 07:33 AM Re: frogmarch in action
Jackie Carpal Tunnel Registered: 03/15/00 Posts: 11578 Loc: Louisville, Kentucky	This made the difference, to me: "the connection with frog perhaps being the notion of going along belly-down."
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#114216 - 10/23/03 06:43 PM Re: frogmarch in action
JohnHawaii member Registered: 01/17/03 Posts: 171 Loc: Hawaii, USA	As opposed to a "perp walk", which is normally done without bodily contact between escorts and escorted.
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#114217 - 10/23/03 07:16 PM Re: frogmarch in action
sjmaxq Carpal Tunnel Registered: 07/20/03 Posts: 3230 Loc: Te Ika a Maui	>This made the difference, to me: "the connection with frog perhaps being the notion of going along belly-down." Which I still call a mantle, since the same idea was clearly implicit in the link I posted. _________________________ noho ora mai http://maxqnzs.com/References.html
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