Question for British People

[Shay]

Can anyone tell me what the deal with frogs is? I keep seeing frogs mentioned in various places in British humour. I feel very left out and keep wondering if I would find it hilarious if I only knew what it meant. I'd like to commandeer a British person and not let them go until they explain it to me, but since I don't know where to find one near me, I have decided to settle for asking on this forum since I know that many people from the UK use this site.

So I'd really appreciate it if you could enlighten me and deepen my appreciation for British humour.

[Salamander]

Only thing I can think of is that Frogs is a derogatory term for the French... did that make sense in context?

Frogs are also kind of hilarious. Look at their bulgy eyes.

[Shay]

Yeah that was the one thing I found when I was trying my own research, but no, it really didn't make sense in the context of any of the places where I saw frogs being mentioned.

[Joal 555]

I know of one person who uses "Frog" as a substitute for the F word, but that's not a British thing, as far as I am aware.

So other than what Salamander said, I can't think of anything else

[Shay]

Well it could be that I'm completely insane and it's just a coincidence that I've seen references to frogs in at least three difference places in British humour...

[Squadilah]

Give an example of somewhere you've heard it, apart from it being used against French people.

[NameTaken]

I'm stumped, I can't say I've noticed it in much myself

Could it be that frogs are just so unheard of in American humour that you're hypersensitive to them? Or maybe British people see them so often we're totally oblivious? But then, I watch both British and American comedy thingies and it's never really crossed my mind....hmmm

[Dye]

I agree with all that above have said, I've never seen 'Frog' used as anything other than a derogatory term for the French.

[count tiszula]

This is so intriguing; I would love to know what these examples are. I wonder if there are disguised references to the French, a bit like "A frog he would a wooing ride"; but isn't that also sung in America?

[murphy dee]

a bit like "A frog he would a wooing ride"; but isn't that also sung in America?

Not that I've ever heard here, and I'm something of a folk song nut.

[Shay]

Well I've never actually heard it used as a term against French people, that was just the only thing I found in my research. I know I've seen frog references a couple of times in Monty Python's Flying Circus, but the only one I remember off the top of my head is this thing in which the MGM Lion was removed from the logo and replaced with a frog and then it was called "20th Century Frog".

In the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams, there was a planet by the name of "Frogstar world b" which was considered to be the most evil place in the Galaxy. At another point in the series there was a character named Prak that was given an overdose of truth serum before testifying at a trial and then proceeded to tell the entire truth about everything that ever happened and he found much of it, particularly the bits about frogs and Arthur Dent to be hilarious.

In the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, "dried frog pills" are considered to be a hallucinogenic substance. There may well be other frog references in the series but I have not read all of the books. There are more references still though in the text based MUD game based on the book series. In the game frogs deliver the post and sometimes I've heard NPCs say "I am not a frog, I am a free womble." There is also one quest that requires a frog and one witch spell that uses one as a component, though I suppose I put less significance on those last two. Finally the general discussion board on the game's message boards is called the Frog board. In hind sight I suppose it was that board that I should have asked this question on.

There was also this American comedian by the name of Mitch Hedberg who said that the British equivalent to the US's Smokey the Bear fire prevention mascot was a character called Smacky the Frog. Now as far as I know, there's no truth to this, but I only mention it as just one more place I've seen frogs connected with British culture.

@ NameTaken

Perhaps you have a point because that last example is the only time I can remember frogs being mentioned in American comedy and even that was a British reference. Perhaps I'm only imagining some significance that isn't really there, but it just really seemed like there was some deeper humour there that I wasn't getting simply because I wasn't born and raised in that country. Sort of like because I was raised Jewish there are certain things that will be funny to me that wouldn't make much if any sense to someone who wasn't raised with the same culture.

@ count de tisza

I'm not sure how any of the examples I gave could have been disguised references to the French, but if you can see that please feel free to enlighten me. I do recall a song with the line "A frog went a courting and he did ride", but I don't know if that's a different version of the song you are thinking of, or a completely different song.

ETA: I just remembered there were those Chocolate Frog Card things in Harry Potter.

[The Dude]

This is the only one that comes to mind.....

[Dusty15]

Err...I think there's not really a coded or hidden meaning in the frog references you're talking about. Frogs are common in myths, fairy tales, and popular culture. They come up a lot in American humor and entertainment too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frogs_in_popular_culture

[Vetinari]

Frogs and toads are certainly associated with witchcraft, which would explain most of the later examples, Harry Potter and the dried frog pills and so on. In Macbeth, one of the witches familiars is Paddock, a toad.

[Jorm]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Douglas Adams Frogstar World B was a France joke, what with it being described as the most evil place in the universe. And although I can't remember the context of that particular Python bit there are several sketches that involve the use of frog to make fun of France.

[Shay]

Yeah I guess I can see what you mean about the Frogstar thing, but as far as I can tell none of the other examples I gave looked like they could be veiled insults to the French.

Anyway thanks for the information everyone. Guess I'll just have to let it go and accept that there's not really any inside jokes that I'm not getting. It's a bit disappointing I suppose, but on the bright side there's still plenty of other things in British humour that make me laugh.

[PuddinPop]

I personally just think it's because frogs are seen as pretty random, therefore the British think it's funny

Like the chocolate frogs in Harry Potter. Who wants to eat a frog? it's funnier than, say, a chocolate mouse. But I guess that's just typical British humour

It is an insult to the French, the same as Limey is for the English or Kiwi is for New Zealanders, but I don't know if that's solely related to us Brits.

I've seen it used before as a reference to old people: "You old toad"

But that's all the information I have, not being a Monty Python fan, I have no idea about the rest

[Salamander]

Like the chocolate frogs in Harry Potter. Who wants to eat a frog? it's funnier than, say, a chocolate mouse. But I guess that's just typical British humour

Yeah, why is that. Some animals are funnier than others, I thought about it a lot while doing improv. To me, frogs are funny. Badgers, monkeys, weasels are funny. Mice are not as funny.

Some random things sound more wacky and random than others.

[Shay]

I guess I don't see what's so funny about frogs, which is why I thought it might just be a British thing. Maybe it is a cultural difference, or perhaps it's just a personal difference. Now that I come to think about it, I don't there there are any animals that I consider to be more funny than others. It would really just all depend on context and what that particular animal was doing that might make it funny on a particular occasion.

[count tiszula]

Anothe Pyihon example is the flavour Crunchy Frog for a chocolate.

As ever , Sal, I suspect your perception is acutest. I too have spent ages wondering about why some animals are funny, but I will not start my lecture on the anthropological , linguistic and sosiolinguistic aspects now.

In short, I think it is largely aboutt food taboos, I mean, try reading the list of unclean beasts in Leviticua 13 with a straight face. The Frogs are so called because they eat frogs. Like "Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails", the ultimate three taboo food items for the Englishman.

Funny animal comedy was big in the 60s and 70s amongst the Footlights people and Marty Feldman. "Prime ivory mouse-tusks ", "I've got a ferret sticking up my nose"," Ethel the Aardvark goes quantity Surveying", and so on.

"Frog he went a courting and he did ride uh huh" was a huge hit as a children's record; was it someone like Burl Ives.? It had to be Americanised by the addition of the obligatory grunting, because the English version which I can't remember as well, has utterly bizarre chorus lines like "Hey ho, says Rowley", Rowley is usually Charles II, but it's also supposed to be Elizabeth I's various French suitors.

[Shay]

Hmm unfortunately I only know of Marty Feldman through his roles in Mel Brooks movies, though the ferret up the nose thing makes me ponder fetish implications...

[count tiszula]

Yes, especially as the ferret song goes on "And, what is more it constantly explodes....." How I loved that song as a boy!

I'm trying to remember if any funny animals occur in the oeuvre of Rambling Sid Rumpo. which I think was Feldman's work...but I can't remember.

[Skyler]

Basically the English and the French make various jokes about each other and their lifestyles. The English make a number of jokes among themselves about the French and frogs (because they eat frogs legs, which most English men find repulsive). In return they use food I think for jokes about us... I can't remember what it is, but it's something to do with junk, like maybe jokes involving bacon? Or burgers? I don't know.

That is the reason, not because we think frogs have hilarious eyes or whatever

[BlueRandom]

"Frog he went a courting and he did ride uh huh" was a huge hit as a children's record; was it someone like Burl Ives.? It had to be Americanised by the addition of the obligatory grunting, because the English version which I can't remember as well, has utterly bizarre chorus lines like "Hey ho, says Rowley", Rowley is usually Charles II, but it's also supposed to be Elizabeth I's various French suitors.

I didn't know that was a song! I know it as a poem in a kid's book - "Frog he did a-wooing go" - and it used to creep me out a little, maybe because I didn't know what 'wooing' was. Although knowing doesn't improve it much ... That's interesting about the Elizabeth I reference, though.

[Kiwifruit]

It is an insult to the French, the same as Limey is for the English or Kiwi is for New Zealanders...

Kiwi isn't an insult! Not at all. We often use it when speaking proudly about ourselves in fact. If someone asked me what I was, "I'm a Kiwi" would be the most natural response..."New Zealander" sounds weird xD Unless the rest of the world uses it to poke fun at us behind our backs...?