Quite true, and this even carried over to the New World, where frog legs are a favorite in Cajun Louisiana as well. So as I observed, "frog" for the French is similar to "kraut" for the Germans, implying a fondness for sauerkraut, which does in fact feature in many German dishes. Or Limey for the Brits, which I believe refers to the limes once carried on ships of the Royal Navy to help prevent scurvy. There is absolutely nothing insulting or derogatory in any of these nicknames, any more than in calling a person from Oklahoma a Sooner.
True, not every Frenchman likes frog legs, nor every German saurkraut, so these are in a sense "stereotypes", but if that equates to racism, then so does the phrase "American as apple pie", since not all Americans like apple pie either.
There are indeed offensive racial slurs in the world, but the above are not among them. Those who try to portray every nickname as racist are not only engaging gratuitous Political Correctness, but also exhibiting their ignorance of both history and language.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Big Spring, Texas, USA
> From: nicbordeaux <nicbordeaux@yahoo.fr>
\r?\n> Subject: [CR] Frogs
\r?\n> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
\r?\n> Date: Sunday, May 24, 2009, 9:12 AM
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Well documented (?) references to a Queen having a litle
\r?\n> friend from France whom she bestowed with the title of My
\r?\n> Little Frog, I think we're slitting hairs here.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> The French are called Frogs or have been called so because
\r?\n> they eat frog's legs (fried, they are rather like chicken,
\r?\n> albeit not much meat). A great gallic speciality, along with
\r?\n> Snails, which are ralther delicious actually, but what isn't
\r?\n> if you pour enough sauce and garlic on it ?
\r?\n>
\r?\n> As to what France bought to cycling ? Everything.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Nick March, Agen 47000 France