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Origins: What are 'Frogs and Square Heads'?

25 Jun 05 - 05:07 AM (#1509316)
Subject: Origins: What are 'Frogs and Square Heads'?
From: chico

From Unreconstructed rebeL;

We whupped the best they sent us, and we whupped 'em fair an true
We whupped thier German immigrants and they Eyetalians too
We whupped Frogs and Square Heads and all their furrin might
But when the wen and got the Micks, we knew we'd got a fight.


I know Eyetalians, and micks (ireland), but what are frogs? (French? Unlikely to have fought for the union?) .And what are square heads? What does 'furrin' mean in this situation, and what does 'wen' mean?

25 Jun 05 - 05:35 AM (#1509319)
Subject: RE: Origins: What are 'Frogs and Square Heads'?
From: gnomad

Frogs = French
Square-heads = Germans

Both these were early 20th century useage in UK, possibly earlier too but I don't know. Frogs is still in use.

I suspect that the derivation will be from the French predilection for eating frogs' legs, and possibly the shape of the German military helmet. The latter theory suggests post-pickelhaube derivation, but I think I have seen references in 1920s novels. I'm unsure when the helmet shape changed.

Furrin I would take to be foreign.

"when the wen" a guess, this one, but (?) when they went (?)

25 Jun 05 - 05:37 AM (#1509321)
Subject: RE: Origins: What are 'Frogs and Square Heads'?
From: Blowzabella

I would suggest furrin means foreign

And I would imagine that 'when the wen and got the Micks' should be 'when they went and got the Micks' ie - once the Irish joined in, we knew there would be a fight.

Frogs are French, usually - no idea about square heads....

25 Jun 05 - 05:39 AM (#1509323)
Subject: RE: Origins: What are 'Frogs and Square Heads'?
From: GUEST,.gargoyle

LEXICON OF RACIAL SLURS
http://gyral.blackshell.com/names.html
Germans typically have, or are thought to have, rather square heads. Squarehead Germans or Swedes Shape of head, late 19th/early 20th century American word.

The French are said to laugh like frogs. When they laugh, their adam's apples bulge out of their necks like frogs. Also perhaps from the French delicacy of frog-legs. Another possible derivation is the Fleur-de-Lys displayed on the French king's banner in the Middle Ages, which, to the English enemy, looked like squatting frogs. UK origins.

http://www.heretical.com/miscella/mpbigot.html
FRENCH: Froggies. Bloody French. (N.B. The French are very easily insulted by the British. Almost anything will do.)
GERMANS: Krauts Boche. Sausage-eaters. Square-heads. (N.B. The Germans are an appallingly insensitive nation and therefore extremely hard to insult. Try setting fire to them or calling their Mercedes Volkswagens.

http://slate.msn.com/?id=2134
annexed by Seattle many years ago, maintains its culture and loyalties without much consideration for national or civic boundaries. Its residents, solid and conservative in look and outlook, are often referred to as "square heads," which suggests a stolid stupidity many associate with the Swedes, but all Scandinavian flags fly here.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

25 Jun 05 - 07:17 AM (#1509351)
Subject: RE: Origins: What are 'Frogs and Square Heads'?
From: Liz the Squeak

During the Napoleonic era, the French were known as 'Crapauds' which is French for toad.

So really they should be Toads, not frogs, but I guess frogs is more alliterative.

LTS

25 Jun 05 - 07:30 AM (#1509359)
Subject: RE: Origins: What are 'Frogs and Square Heads'?
From: Micca

Liz, as in
"... and Johnny Crapoos just across from France
and not one of them could speak a word of English
but answered to the name of " Months Advance""

25 Jun 05 - 07:36 AM (#1509361)
Subject: RE: Origins: What are 'Frogs and Square Heads'?
From: Liz the Squeak

That's the jobby.

LTS

25 Jun 05 - 07:46 AM (#1509367)
Subject: RE: Origins: What are 'Frogs and Square Heads'?
From: bobad

In Quebec the Anglophones call the Francophones frogs.

The Francophones call the Anglophones square heads, tetes carres in French.

They also call each other a lot of other things but we won't go into that now.

Tetes carres may originate from the word bloke which invokes the word block hence block head.

25 Jun 05 - 12:16 PM (#1509527)
Subject: RE: Origins: What are 'Frogs and Square Heads'?
From: Le Scaramouche

Funnily enough, Georgians (from Gruzia) are also known as square (or block) heads.

25 Jun 05 - 02:04 PM (#1509586)
Subject: RE: Origins: What are 'Frogs and Square Heads'?
From: semi-submersible

Years ago I heard an elder family member refer to Scandinavia as "Squareheddy." When I asked, I was told, "because that's where the Squareheads come from." I didn't know it was also used of Germans. I guess it could be pinned on a large portion of humanity, though.

"Frogs," "frog-eaters," or alliteratively "frog-eating French": the initial "fr" is probably why frogs rather than snails were chosen for this piece of disparagement.

25 Jun 05 - 02:49 PM (#1509627)
Subject: RE: Origins: What are 'Frogs and Square Heads'?
From: Amos

There was a tradition in the early 20th C. of referring to Swedes as squareheads, but I never did know why.


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