Why is a frog called a frog?

Something 'frogged' is braced or supported firmly

David Barnett - Venice, Florida

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Re: Something 'frogged' is braced or supported fir

Erik S. Friis

>Thanks David for the quick reply. Now is the word "frogged" independent and hopefully preceedes the development of handplanes? In other words is it used in areas that are totally unrelated to planes? My guess would have been that it had something to do with the physical appearance (esp. when I saw the holes cut into it for the hold down screws), but it seemed like a stretch. Thanks, Erik

Possibly derived from the Portuguese 'froco'...

David Barnett - Venice, Florida

>when used as 'fastener'. Frogs are found in clothing. Military uniforms are often fastened with frogs. The use of frog to describe a fastener or an object used to hold fast (frogs on rigging, the frog nut on violin bows), is likely very old. Also, the horny triangular section of a horse hoof is called a frog, somewhat similar in shape to a Bailey frog, I suppose.

Perhaps likely for iron planes...

David Barnett - Venice, Florida

>is the ribbed supporting plate used for track switching. Of course, the chosen term 'frog' is again used in the sense of support, holding fast, etc.

Re: Possibly derived from the Portuguese 'froco'..

Erik S. Friis

>Very interesting David, thank you....I love word histories, esp when related to tools or tool parts. Any thoughts on the names for the pitch angles? Regards, Erik

Because they hop on a board...;^)

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

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And Don't Forget the Use of "Frog" in the

Bob Hutchins in central TX

>floral business!

David, you amaze me. Your posts are always very interesting and well-written and display a broad and deep knowledge of many subjects.

BobH

Re: Why is a frog called a frog?

Joel

>AS far as I know the term only relates to metal planes with a moveable blade support. I cannot recall seeing it in any other literature. That is of course this means the term only dates to the 1850 or so. A good question is the earliest appearance of the word in any literature. A trip to the OED is probably in order.

An obvious root might be the a plane has a throat and well with a moveable base you got a frog in your throat.

In this rare instance...

David Barnett - Venice, Florida

>...the O.E.D. is lacking in examples, pedigree, provenance, and etymology for 'frog' as positioner, fastener, brace, nut, support, fulcrul tensioner, jamb and wedge, my apologies to Dr. Johnson. Of course, I spared the questioner on derivation of 'froco' from an earlier linguistic 'floco', from Lat. 'floccus', referring to wool, fuzz, nap, and tuft, from which the verb 'flock' is derived, such as "to flock the inside of a box". Then there's 'frock', similar to Port. 'froco', which is a sort of shift, which in a shortened version is called by the Scots a 'cutty sark', which has nothing to do with anything beyond my drinking scotch of a distinction far better than the aforementioned as I type.

'Frog' as 'holdfast' is thesaurically supported, however (couldn't resist). Gonna have to spring (hop?) for a breeding pair of those nifty new frogs of yours, Joel.

Don`t know about the other carpenters but...

Bob Hackett

>The wedge shaped roof flashing that keeps water and ice from building up around things such as chimneys has always been called a frog as far as I know.

Mainely,Bob

I Thought It Was a "Cricket"

Bob Hutchins in central TX

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Re: And Don't Forget the Use of "Frog" in the

David Barnett - Venice, Florida

>Hey, that's right! I suppose a florist's frog is pretty much the same thing as the kenzan I use in ikebana, although metal spikes would certainly work better for the woody grasses.

As for broad knowledge, I make it all up, which is why my friends hate me.

Re: A SWAG

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>cos(60°) = 0.5

That may be a regional variant term

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>Out here in California, they're called "crickets," too, just like in Texas - or maybe the Texans learned it from us.

I suppose up there in Maine, the term "cricket" wouldn't mean much, since they may not get a chance to go through their life cycle in the ten minutes of a Maine summer.

Re: Why is a frog called a frog?

Dick Darin

>Just take it out of the plane, set it on the bench and look at it.

Re: Why is a frog called a frog?

Stephen Slyke

>Carpenters and surveyors often measure a slope as 'rise over run' rather than angle. Laying out dovetails is a good woodworking example, as we often refer to 1:8 and 1:6 dovetails but you rarely hear of marking out a dovetail at 82.9 degrees.

If you were laying out a 1:2 (or 1/2) frog on a piece of metal you could draw a line that connected the corner to a point "one inch over and two inches up". This would be an angle of 63 degrees.

-Stephen

I Learned the Term in NC Where I Grew Up

Bob Hutchins in central Texas

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LOL

Bob Hutchins in central Texas

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Cricket and Saddle

Jorge Castaneda

>Here in my neck of the woods, a cricket is a crontaption to prevent ice or snow falling into people, like in entry ways, the saddle protects the chimney.

Yes, there are regional variations, even from mid Maine to downeast Maine.