# "A crocodile of youngsters" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 3, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010 "2016-02-03T01:19:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cardinal\_fang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal_fang/32/15316_2.png) [@cardinal\_fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cardinal_fang)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010/1 "2016-02-03T01:19:02Z")
I encountered this phrase in a [BBC article](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35445025) today, and can honestly say I’ve never heard it before. Is this a common idiom? A Britishism? I presume “crocodile” in this case is the collective noun akin to pack, parliament, murder, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010/2 "2016-02-03T01:47:25Z")
It’s a Britishism for a line of people (usually kids) walking in pairs. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010/3 "2016-02-03T02:23:17Z")
With a teacher, or other chaperone, in front, and another behind. Do the Americans have a word for it? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010/4 "2016-02-03T03:11:02Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It’s a Britishism for a line of people (usually kids) walking in pairs. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > With a teacher, or other chaperone, in front, and another behind. > > Do the Americans have a word for it? Well if it really means an ordered line that walks in pairs then I doubt we have a word for that. We’re not nearly that organized! ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010/5 "2016-02-03T03:34:28Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > With a teacher, or other chaperone, in front, and another behind. > > Do the Americans have a word for it? I’ve heard it called a **Walking Bus** here. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010/6 "2016-02-03T03:44:34Z")
[Crocodile line.](http://cache2.asset-cache.net/gc/497294945-london-children-from-private-school-in-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=X7WJLa88Cweo9HktRLaNXjYG2nyr9%2B9Vl1MD2eAHu9x6tehYu429Uc3HLJIIrbJheWs3gIeIYhKsm4zDdTZsZrGeZGk16aNgP75mUCx9Ut0%3D) ---
**Author:** ![cardinal\_fang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal_fang/32/15316_2.png) [@cardinal\_fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cardinal_fang)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010/7 "2016-02-03T03:52:54Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It’s a Britishism for a line of people (usually kids) walking in pairs. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > With a teacher, or other chaperone, in front, and another behind. > > [snip] That’s actually really cute. Evocative. Thanks! > [@Colibri](#): > > [Crocodile line.](http://cache2.asset-cache.net/gc/497294945-london-children-from-private-school-in-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=X7WJLa88Cweo9HktRLaNXjYG2nyr9%2B9Vl1MD2eAHu9x6tehYu429Uc3HLJIIrbJheWs3gIeIYhKsm4zDdTZsZrGeZGk16aNgP75mUCx9Ut0%3D) Link is broken, for me at least. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010/8 "2016-02-03T04:27:39Z")
> [@cardinal\_fang](#): > > Link is broken, for me at least. The link works for me, but here’s [the page.](http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/london-children-from-private-school-in-crocodile-line-news-photo/497294945) ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010/9 "2016-02-03T04:51:37Z")
Closest I remember from childhood (1950’s-60’s) was “Buddy System” - each child was assigned a partner and was to keep an eye on him. It had nothing to do with one’s social group - you were assigned a partner and that was that. Sometimes, hand-holding, but not necessarily. This was used for any out-of-school trips, even museums and such. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010/10 "2016-02-03T05:12:31Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Well if it really means an ordered line that walks in pairs then I doubt we have a word for that. We’re not nearly that organized! In elementary school we would form a double line, with girls in size order making up one line and boys in size order the other. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010/11 "2016-02-03T07:27:45Z")
It’s actually a really useful term - '“make a crocodile!” is a simple, short, unambiguous term, and it sounds like it’s fun. Kids only have to learn it once, then it sticks. Junior school kids respond well to that sort of thing. ‘Circle time’ is sort of similar in simplicity and utility. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010/12 "2016-02-03T10:30:22Z")
We also use the term in our Medieval Dance classes, for a line of couples all holding hands, as in a [pavane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavane) ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-crocodile-of-youngsters/745010/13 "2016-02-03T14:55:49Z")
I read a children’s book ( **On Your Toes, Susie!** by Lee Wyndham) in which a girl from Paris describes walking with her class there like a “crocodile”. I’d always thought she was making a mistake, and meant to say “snake”, but she would have learned British English in school.