frog

Less common meanings

4. 4
   fancy buttonnouncountable

   An ornamental fastening for clothing made of a button, toggle, or knot that passes through a matching loop.

   The tailored jacket closed with a row of black frogs instead of buttons.

   A single decorative frog held the cloak together at the throat.

   Note

   A tailor's frog comes from the same uncertain word as the sword loop, and it is an old ornament. In The Count of Monte Cristo (1844–46), Dumas dresses a visitor in a green surtout ornamented with black frogs, "which have so long maintained their popularity all over Europe." A garment trimmed this way is described as frogged. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

   • The clothing-fastener and sword-loop senses share an uncertain etymology. en.wiktionary.org
   • The frog is an old clothing ornament. en.wikipedia.org
   • The first book edition is dated 1845–1846. Serialization began in 1844. fr.wikisource.org
   • Dumas's novel describes a visitor wearing a green surtout with black frogs, using the quoted wording in its narration. gutenberg.org
   • Frogged describes a garment decorated with this kind of braid. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   stem holdernouncountable

   A weighted device set in the base of a container, with spikes or holes that hold flower stems in position.

   The florist anchored the arrangement on a heavy frog hidden beneath the water.

   Antique glass frogs with many holes are prized by collectors.

   UsageOften said in full as flower frog, which keeps it apart from the other meanings.

   Note

   Kenzan is the name for the spiked type used in Japanese ikebana. The device sits out of sight at the bottom of the vase, so the word is familiar mainly to arrangers and to collectors of old glass holders. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Kenzan names the spiked flower holder used in Japanese ikebana. en.wikipedia.org
   • Flower holders of this type sit at the bottom of a vase or bowl. gardens.si.edu
   • Flower frogs can be concealed by the arrangement. smithsoniangardens.wordpress.com
6. 6
   fishing lurenouncountable

   A fishing lure designed to look like a frog, used to draw strikes from fish.

   She skipped the frog under the dock where the bass were hiding.

   Topwater frogs are deadly when fished over thick lily pads.

   UsageAnglers say fish a frog, as in 'fish a frog over the lily pads'.

   Note

   Bass anglers fish them over weeds and lily pads, where other lures snag. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Bass anglers fish frog lures over weeds and lily pads because their weedless design helps avoid snags. majorleaguefishing.com
7. 7
   slur (French)nounderogatoryethnicoffensiveslurcountable

   A contemptuous term for a French person, or in Canada for a French-speaking Quebecer.

   He muttered something about the frogs and their wine before storming off.

   Calling a Frenchman a frog will not win you any friends in Paris.

   UsageUse it only when quoting or talking about the word, never to name anyone.

   Note

   An ethnic slur built on a food stereotype: frog legs, the dish long associated with the French, became a name for the people themselves. Kraut for Germans works the same way, and French answers with rosbif, from roast beef, for the English. When a character in Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn's Yes Minister (1982) says "Can't trust the frogs," the word characterizes the speaker. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

   • The slur frog derives from the stereotype of French people eating frogs' legs. en.wiktionary.org
   • Kraut for a German similarly derives from a food stereotype. en.wiktionary.org
   • French rosbif comes from English roast beef and denotes an English person. en.wiktionary.org
   • Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn wrote Yes Minister. en.wikipedia.org
   • The quotation occurs in a Yes Minister episode originally broadcast in 1982. en.wikipedia.org
   • A character, Sir Humphrey Appleby, says "Can't trust the frogs." en.wikiquote.org
8. 8
   hunt pond animalsverbtransitive or intransitive

   To hunt or trap frogs, typically for food, bait, or study.

   On warm summer nights, my uncle went frogging along the bayou with a flashlight and a gig.

   If you want to frog for bait, the shallow edges of a pond after sunset are your best bet.

   UsageMost often heard as go frogging; you can also frog for bait.

9. 9
   bow endnouncountable

   The part of a violin or other string-instrument bow, located at the end held by the player, to which the horsehair is attached.

   The cellist gripped the bow just above the frog for better control.

   Rosin had built up around the frog after years of playing.

   UsagePlayers hold the bow or play at the frog or above the frog.

   Note

   A string player's word that covers the whole family: violin, viola, cello and contrabass bows each have one. It sits at the end the hand holds and anchors the horsehair. It is also moved by the screw that tightens or slackens the hair. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Violin, viola, cello and contrabass bows have frogs. en.wikipedia.org
   • The frog is at the end held by the player and anchors the horsehair. en.wiktionary.org
10. 10
    rail crossingnouncountable

    The part of a railway switch or turnout where the running rails cross one another.

    A cracked frog at the switch forced engineers to slow every passing train.

    The yard crew inspected each frog for wear before the morning rush.

    Note

    This crossing also goes by the name common crossing. Its name comes from the pad in a horse's hoof, which the meeting of the rails was thought to resemble. Do not confuse it with the overhead-wire fitting of the same name. This frog lies on the ground and carries wheels, not trolley poles. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • The railway frog is also called a common crossing. en.wiktionary.org
    • The railway term derives from resemblance to the frog in a horse's hoof. en.wiktionary.org
    • A distinct overhead-wire fitting called a frog guides trolley poles. en.wikipedia.org
    • The railway frog is part of the track traversed by wheels. en.wikipedia.org
11. 11
    sword loopnouncountable

    A loop of leather or fabric used to hang a sword, bayonet, or its scabbard from a waist or shoulder belt.

    He attached the scabbard to his belt with a sturdy leather frog.

    The reenactor's frogs were stitched to match an eighteenth-century pattern.

    Note

    The military frog is a different word from the animal. Its origin is unknown, though it may come from Portuguese froco, "flock", and ultimately from Latin floccus. The same uncertain word also names the ornamental coat fastener and the flower holder. No link to the amphibian is known beyond the shared spelling. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • The military sense has a separate etymology from the animal name. en.wiktionary.org
    • Its origin is unknown; Portuguese froco, meaning flock, from Latin floccus, is a possible source. en.wiktionary.org
    • The ornamental coat fastener belongs to the same etymological entry. en.wiktionary.org
    • The flower holder belongs to the same etymological entry. en.wiktionary.org
    • No established etymological connection to the amphibian is known. en.wiktionary.org
12. 12
    braid trimverbtransitive

    To trim or fasten a coat or similar garment with frogs, looped braid closures.

    The band's dress jackets were elaborately frogged with gold braid across the chest, like old cavalry uniforms.

    The bandleader's red jacket, frogged with silver cord down the front, looked like something from an old parade.

    UsageMost often seen as frogged (a frogged coat), with with for the trim: frogged with gold braid.

    Similartrim

13. 13
    sprawlverbintransitive

    To lie sprawled out flat with the limbs splayed, in the manner of a resting frog.

    Corgis often frog on hardwood floors, hind legs stretched straight out behind.

    After the long walk, the bulldog frogged on the cool kitchen tiles, his back legs splayed out behind him.

    Similarsprawl

14. 14
    split chickenverbtransitive

    To split a chicken along the backbone and open it out flat, so the bird cooks quickly and evenly.

    Many cooks frog the chicken to cut roasting time nearly in half.

    The chef frogged the bird and seared it skin-side down.

    UsageThe same as spatchcock, which more readers will know.

    Similarspatchcock, butterfly

    Note

    A kitchen synonym for spatchcock, which is the word it is usually explained by. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Frog has a transitive cooking sense meaning to spatchcock a chicken. en.wiktionary.org
15. 15
    party jumper (politics)nounslangderogatoryMalaysiacountable

    A politician who abandons one party for another, named scornfully for the opportunistic leap.

    Party loyalists have no time for a frog who jumps ship for a cabinet seat.

    Two more frogs joined the governing benches after the reshuffle.

    UsageAn insult; in neutral reporting, defector says the same without the sneer.

    Similardefector, turncoat

    Oppositeloyalist

    Note

    Malaysian political slang, and an insult rather than a description. Calling a lawmaker a frog accuses them of leaping between parties for advantage. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Frog is Malaysian political slang for a politician who switches parties. en.wikipedia.org
16. 16
    noundialectalCockneycountable

    A road; a clipping of the Cockney rhyming-slang expression 'frog and toad.'

    He lives just up the frog from the market.

    They've dug up the frog outside the station again.

    Similarroad

    Note

    Cockney rhyming slang at its most compressed. Frog and toad rhymes with road, and then the rhyming half is dropped. What remains, frog, no longer sounds like road at all. That is the point: the code works only for people who already know the full phrase. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • 'Frog and toad' is Cockney rhyming slang for 'road', commonly shortened to 'frog'. en.wiktionary.org
    • The shortening removes 'toad', the word supplying the rhyme with 'road'. japan-iu.ac.jp
    • Omitting the rhyming word obscures the connection for listeners unfamiliar with the full phrase. en.wikipedia.org
17. 17
    brick dentnouncountable

    A recess in the top face of a clay brick that has been pressed or made by hand.

    Masons usually lay bricks with the frog upward so mortar fills the recess and bonds better.

    Some Victorian bricks carry the maker's name stamped inside the frog.

18. 18
    have sexverbslangmildly vulgartransitive or intransitive

    To have sexual intercourse with someone.

    UsageStill coarse in polite company; frogging can also be misread as hunting frogs.

    Similarbed

    Note

    Probably a minced oath, a softened alteration of fuck, which makes it vulgar but only mildly so. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The sexual sense probably originated as a minced-oath alteration of fuck. en.wiktionary.org
19. 19
    noun

    A fitting in overhead trolley wiring that redirects a trolley pole from one contact wire to another at switches and crossings.
20. 20
    verb

    To transfer cells from one plate to another using a pronged plating tool.