7 ms·
As a Frenchman, it took me a while to realize it was supposed to mean "a painful thing to do"
by mlok 4y ago
As a Frenchman, it took me a while to realize it was supposed to mean "a painful thing to do"
- DoreenMichele 4y agoIt's probably (possibly?) a Mark Twain reference: "If your job requires you to eat a toad, do it first. If it requires you to eat two, eat the bigger one first."
- istinetz 4y agoHe's referring to, and quoting, a very popular self-help book titled "Eat the frog". The book itself is probably a wink to that Mark Twain quote.
- hnbad 4y agoIt's funny because in Germany we have a similar phrase "swallowing the toad". I think the idea is to swallow them whole. I think French cuisine generally only serves frog legs, not whole frogs?
- mlok 4y agoYes, we only eat the legs :)
- somenameforme 4y agoNot just French. They're popular in many parts of the South US as well, particularly in areas with Cajun/French influence. And delicious. And yeah, just the legs.
- jaclaz 4y agoAlso in some areas of Italy, there used to be restaurants where frog (only legs, usually fried) were the main dish, though I believe they are little by little becoming more rare. Also they once were a very "poor" (please read as cheap) meal, while nowadays they tend to be "gourmet".
- _0ffh 4y agoSame thing as with oysters, then.
- Findecanor 4y agoFrog legs are eaten in many parts of Europe (except Germany apparently) So much that some indigenous frog species have become endangered, and frog legs are more often imported from South-East Asia these days. BTW. I had also expected the article to be about actual frogs: about how endangered some species are, or how the flesh may contain pollutants or diseases.
- hnbad 4y ago"Frog eaters" (using the word for "eat" that is used for animals, not people) is a German slur against French people, so yeah, Germany seems to have a strong aversion.
- bambax 4y agoYeah me too! My first thought was, but frogs are... delicious? What is he even talking about? That said, I was very surprised by the quality of the article, and the writing. I was expecting yet another bucket of self-help motivating bullshit and it's the opposite of that! And also quite funny.
- MichaelCollins 4y agoYeah I thought the obvious answer is because they taste good!
- glandium 4y agoBTW, as a 44 year old French that has never seen frogs on a restaurant menu, and never had any, I wonder how common eating frogs is nowadays. Escargots seem much more common, to cite something else we're known for.
- eru 4y agoI guess eating frogs might be more common in South East Asia? Frog leg porridge is really easy to find in Singapore, for example.
- thematrixturtle 4y agoThey're common in Singapore because of the southern Chinese influence. You don't see them often in Malaysia or Indonesia tho (outside Chinese areas) because frog is not halal.
- cageface 4y agoFrogs are very popular in Vietnam, served in all kinds of ways.
- yodsanklai 4y agoI think it's quite rare. I tried once because a friend was visiting from the US and wanted to try. With a bit of research, I found a restaurant specialised in frog, but yes, they aren't common.
- maeln 4y agoIdk, I went to a lot of restaurant that had frog legs in their menu. On the other hand I had snails only once. But I think "traditional" french restaurant are not that common anymore in anycase. My city is full of restaurant from all over the world or thematic restaurant, only an handful of "classic" french restaurant (and its not a bad thing, I love the variety).
- thedailymail 4y ago
- petercooper 4y agoWouldn't eating bread be more painful in France? (Sorry.)
- dcminter 4y agoI've never eaten bread as delicious as the "boring" baguettes available from virtually every bakery in France. Maybe it's the yeast they use or something? So I'm genuinely curious as to where you're coming from with that. Edit: Oh. Pat yourself on the back for a pun well played. Whooshed straight over my head! Take my angry upvote ;)
- petercooper 4y agoThanks, I'll accept your upvote graciously as I'm celiac and unable to eat that fantastic French bread anymore!
- hashmal 4y agoBaguettes "tradition" can only contain 3 ingredients (flour, water, yeast) so their quality matter, yes, but the preparation is what makes it all: how it's mixed, how long it rests, at what temperature, how the flour/water ratio changes through the process, etc. that dictate what the end result will be. It can take 10 years for a baker to master the process.
- dewey 4y agoWhy would eating bread in the country with one of the best bakery cultures be painful? Edit: It's too early, thanks to the more awake commenters to point out the pun ;)
- praptak 4y agoTo me "eating the frog" comes from a joke. Two peasants find a frog and take a bet. One says he can eat the frog raw and the other bets $5 that he cannot. So the first peasant starts to eat the frog; halfway through he starts to feel nauseous. The second one starts to regret the $5 that he's about to lose. So he offers to reverse the bet - $5 back for eating the remaining half of the frog. The first one agrees and the second one eats the remaining half of the frog. They walk for a bit and one asks the other "Hey, why exactly did we eat that frog?".
- danuker 4y agoFor science, of course!
- oboes 4y agoInterestingly, there is a similar French expression: "avaler des couleuvres" ("swallowing snakes"). It also means "doing things against your will", although it has the additional sense of doing them because you're gullible (not sure if this sense is also present in the English expression). https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/avaler_des_couleuvres https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/avaler_des_couleuvres
- egypturnash 4y agoIt comes from a line often attributed to the 19th-century humorist Mark Twain: Eat a live frog first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you that day. ”Eat a frog” is intended as a metaphor for “do that shitty task you don’t want to do”. It appears to have actually been coined by a late 18th century French humorist: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/04/03/eat-frog/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/04/03/eat-frog/