# TIME Magazine: French people are "Frogs" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 22, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751 "2008-09-22T22:47:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/21 "2008-09-23T00:08:35Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > I was initially going to use “Polack,” but I don’t think they have any oil. And even if we did, how could we get all those big barrels so far underground? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/22 "2008-09-23T00:14:19Z")
Saporito is too good an editor and too well-educated to have done this with any malice. Indeed, as others have said, it was inline with the tenor of the article. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/23 "2008-09-23T00:25:42Z")
Ah, sweet offense. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/24 "2008-09-23T00:26:29Z")
> [@Jayn\_Newell](#): > > ‘Frog’ isn’t all that strong as far as racial slurs go–I’ve known French Canadians who collected frogs. Um… huh? The term “Frogs” comes from the French delicacy “frog legs”. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/25 "2008-09-23T00:28:15Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Um… huh? > > The term “Frogs” comes from the French delicacy “frog legs”. I mean that they embraced the term, rather than hated it. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/26 "2008-09-23T00:35:12Z")
> [@Jayn\_Newell](#): > > I mean that they embraced the term, rather than hated it. By “collecting frogs,” you mean little figurines and knickknacks shaped like frogs, right? Not actual frogs? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/27 "2008-09-23T00:37:32Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > The term “Frogs” comes from the French delicacy “frog legs”. Actually, it probably comes from the name “Jean Crapaud” (_crapaud_meaning “frog” or “toad”) which was used as the personification of the average Frenchman, kind of in the way that “John Bull” was and still is used as the personification of the average Englishman. [Half-assed cite that I am probably getting wrong anyway.](http://books.google.com/books?id=J6YDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=%22Jean+Crapaud%22&source=web&ots=vKYzlt1ECB&sig=xKlC8bLEKwxChdSgNOH-6l5U1Sc&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA194,M1) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/28 "2008-09-23T01:34:20Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > Actually, it probably comes from the name “Jean Crapaud” (_crapaud_meaning “frog” or “toad”) which was used as the personification of the average Frenchman, kind of in the way that “John Bull” was and still is used as the personification of the average Englishman. [Half-assed cite that I am probably getting wrong anyway.](http://books.google.com/books?id=J6YDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=%22Jean+Crapaud%22&source=web&ots=vKYzlt1ECB&sig=xKlC8bLEKwxChdSgNOH-6l5U1Sc&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA194,M1) The British, and probably others, first used the “frog” appelation in the 1600’s to refer to the Jesuits and the Dutch. It was in the very late 1700s-mid 1800s that the British referred to the French as “frogs” and almost certainly were talking about the supposed eating habits of the French, who had been busy inventing Freedom Fries. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/29 "2008-09-23T01:41:41Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > Well it’s better than Paddy, but sadly “Irish” itself can be used as a derogatory term when applied like “Irish Confetti” for bricks or “Irish Twins” for two children born to the same parents less than 12 months apart. REALLY? I never heard that term before! My brother (04-15-57) and I (05-16-56) are Irish twins! ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/30 "2008-09-23T01:42:37Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > By “collecting frogs,” you mean little figurines and knickknacks shaped like frogs, right? Not actual frogs? Right. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/31 "2008-09-23T01:43:10Z")
> [@hopesperson](#): > > Is French even a “race”? I was wondering that too. It sounds a bit like calling Americans “Yanks.” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/32 "2008-09-23T01:47:57Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I was wondering that too. It sounds a bit like calling Americans “Yanks.” Man, do you kiss your mother with that mouth? ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/33 "2008-09-23T01:55:00Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Apparently, racial epithets are okay for TIME editors to use: > > [http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1843168,00.html](http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1843168,00.html) > > I know it’s been even more fashionable since the Iraq War to have a weird hate on for France, but it is really necessary now for editors at large newsmagazines to use ethnic slurs? > > Do you think it would be okay if I wrote an article about how the “Chinks” own a lot of US debt, or how the “Micks” have created a successful economy? Don’t fucking think so. I wonder how Mr. Saporito would like it if I called him a fucking wop, or a greasy dago. I’m guessing not much. Nickname != Epithet. Get a grip. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/34 "2008-09-23T02:16:30Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Nickname != Epithet. > > Get a grip. Ah yes, the Achilles heel. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/35 "2008-09-23T02:31:43Z")
There’s a brand of wine here called “Arrongant Frog”. It’s owned by a Frenchman, based in France, using French grapes. They’re certainly aware of stereotypes and play to them, IME. As far as I know, “Frog” is about as offensive as “Pom” and whilst probably best avoided in polite company, it’s hardly in the same league as some of the other epithets people bandy about when there’s no-one from a different culture around to be offended by. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/36 "2008-09-23T03:22:24Z")
It’s poor editing for it to be in TIME. I’m of German ancestry and I don’t mind anyone calling me a kraut. It just doesn’t have the sting that the “n” word would have, and doesn’t mean the same thing either. Kraut, frog or les rosboefs (the French call the English The Roast Beefs because of their fondness for the dish and their ruddy complexions) just isn’t as mean. It’s naming someone after the nation’s perceived dish. So why aren’t the Transylvanians the Bloods? It would be a huge faux pas for a diplomat to be overheard by a Frenchman using this term. On edit, it should be noted that Hedley Lamar in Blazing Saddles knew that Taggart was of French ancestry and so summoned him to wash his back by calling: “Here froggy!” ---
**Author:** ![WilhelmGefallen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9f8e36/32.png) [@WilhelmGefallen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilhelmGefallen)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/37 "2008-09-23T04:19:18Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > (the French call the English The Roast Beefs because of their fondness for the dish and their ruddy complexions) I’ve always been under the impression that the Brits are Roast Beefs because that’s all they are good at cooking, rather than because of their fondness for it or complexion(?). ---
**Author:** ![ookpik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c68b51/32.png) [@ookpik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ookpik)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/38 "2008-09-23T04:24:19Z")
I’m French-Canadian, and the term “Frog” is really not that big a deal. If you take the time to read the piece in it’s entirety, it quickly becomes apparent that his use of this rather mild epithet is nothing compared to his misguided interpretation of macro-economics. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/39 "2008-09-23T04:30:35Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > The British, and probably others, first used the “frog” appelation in the 1600’s to refer to the Jesuits and the Dutch. > > It was in the very late 1700s-mid 1800s that the British referred to the French as “frogs” and almost certainly were talking about the supposed eating habits of the French, who had been busy inventing Freedom Fries. 🙂 My favorite theory - although probably not true - is that it’s because the fleur-de-lis looks vaguely like a frog, from above. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751/40 "2008-09-23T04:37:43Z")
Calling the Russians “Russkies” just doesn’t cut it as a slur. You mighr try “Borscht Breaths”. Mmm, no, that’s pretty weak, too. Let me work on this a bit. As to the French being called Frogs, I read that when Pepsi Cola tried to break Coca-Cola’s stranglehold on the Canadian soft drink market back in the seventies they decided the place to start was Quebec. This resulted in Anglophone Canadians calling the Quebecois “Pepsis”. Any truth to this? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-magazine-french-people-are-frogs/464751.md?page=3)