SEMANTIC ENIGMAS



Why is the indentation in a house brick called a frog? Ben Chaston, Hong Kong, China In the 1930s the bricks were made by hand in slop moulds and the indent required a wooden former in the bottom of the mould box. This looked like a crouching frog and the name stuck despite its reference to the indent. Jack Hill, St Albans, UK My family used to leave bricks in the garden, indentation down, propped up, in order to provide safe havens for wildlife, possibly frogs. So maybe the name originates from the inhabitants. Henry Lancashire, Dusseldorf, Germany Because it's similar in shape to the indentation in a horse's hoof also called a frog. This could be because the shape in the hoof is similar to a frog's front end. It could also be a simple transference from the earlier name for this dent 'frush' or 'frosk', themselves contractions of fourchette or furchette. Peter Brooke, By Kinmuck, Scotland Frogging  the familiar (usually pyramidal) indentation in bricks  originates from the ancient Egyptian custom of creating hollows in their Nile-clay bricks, in which they interred live animals (usually infant) as building work progressed. Historians are divided on the reasoning. Traditional Egyptologists favoured the after-life scenario (baby animals ready to grow to serve the risen Pharaoh), until the 1903 discovery of millions of skeletons of Bufo regularis  the common African frog  in the remains of ancient Egyptian workerss buildings on the Giza Plateau. Although this amphibious exhumation was not well known to other than historians and palaeontologists, the Victorian trades embraced this romantic (sic) custom during the industrial revolution, and its been with us ever since. Albeit buried. Mick Warwick, Stockton-on-Tees England As a bricklayer I've often asked older brickies why a frog is called a frog all to no avail. The most logical answer I've heard is the indentation (frog) is there to reduce the amount of clay in the making of the brick,(whilst still maintaining the strength of the brick).Therefore the brickmaker is being "frugal" with the clay and frog is a play on the word frugal. john cahill, dudley west midlands england The actual term "frog" comes from the dutch word "kikker" Traditional brick making consisted of a wooden box which a "kicker" in the middle was used to force the clay out wards to form the arrises. dean davies, tipton west midland Well done Dean, the answer you have given is absolutely correct. Indeed the term kikker comes from the lowlands of Belgium and Holland and simply translates into English as frog and has nothing to do with leaping frogs! Allan Rowe, Newall Green Manchester Well done Dean, the answer you have given is absolutely correct. Indeed the term kikker comes from the lowlands of Belgium and Holland and simply translates into English as frog and has nothing to do with leaping frogs! As the senior brickwork at the Manchester College of building I often use this question as an interesting trivia question. Allan Rowe, Newall Green Manchester One of the meanings of "frog" is "a thing used to hold or fasten something" (C OED). The frog in the brick helps better adhesion (due to additional shear key provided. Hence the name. Narasimhan, Chennai India



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