And even if we did, how could we get all those big barrels so far underground?
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.
Ah, sweet offense.
Um… huh?
The term “Frogs” comes from the French delicacy “frog legs”.
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?
Actually, it probably comes from the name “Jean Crapaud” (crapaudmeaning “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.
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. 
REALLY? I never heard that term before!
My brother (04-15-57) and I (05-16-56) are Irish twins!
Right.
I was wondering that too. It sounds a bit like calling Americans “Yanks.”
Man, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?
Nickname != Epithet.
Get a grip.
Ah yes, the Achilles heel.
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.
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!”
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(?).
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.
My favorite theory - although probably not true - is that it’s because the fleur-de-lis looks vaguely like a frog, from above.
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?