Round 3611: SPIT-FROG Results

[Daniel B. Widdis]

Despite appearances, spit-frog has nothing to do with cooking on a spit, except insofar as both spit (weapon) and spit (roasting iron) descend from the same older meaning of a long, pointed object (sharp/spike). One dictionary meaning for spit is, in fact, a sword; while frog appears here to function as a mocking or contemptuous element, consistent with other contemporary slang used to belittle weapons, and by extension, those who brandished them.

The earliest surviving printed quotation containing spit-frog appears in John Taylor's collected works (1630), but the lines themselves were written by William Fennor in his pamphlet Defence (1615). This indirect citation reflects a very public literary feud between Fennor (the "King's Rhymer") and Taylor (the "Water Poet"), two early-17th-century pamphleteers who specialized in insults written in verse.

Around 1614–1615, Taylor publicly challenged Fennor to a "trial of wit": a series of live and printed poetic contests, including one associated with the Hope Theatre. When Fennor failed to appear for the public confrontation, the dispute escalated into a running exchange of mocking poems, pamphlets, and counter-pamphlets instead. Fennor’s Defence was written as a direct rebuttal to Taylor’s earlier taunts and adopts the same scornful tone. In one passage, Fennor ridicules Taylor’s swaggering threats of violence and dismisses his weapon as scarcely worth drawing:

How bravely thou canst brag it out, and swagger
And talk of stabbes (God blesse us) and thy dagger
I would not see thy spightfull spit-Frog drawne,
’Twill serve thee better for an Ale-house pawne.

Here spit-frog turns Taylor’s posturing into a joke: the blade would be more useful pawned for a mug of ale than wielded in a duel.  When Taylor later published his collected works in 1630, he included both his own attacks and Fennor’s replies, allowing readers to follow the entire quarrel, preserving, somewhat ironically, some of the sharper insults directed at himself.

The multiple culinary-sounding definitions for spit and the many unrelated meanings of frog (the amphibian, thrush, a railway joint, a gargoyle, a botanical nickname, and a brick-laying term) provided excellent camouflage.  Nine points were drawn to roasting-spit interpretations alone, giving Tim Bourne the next deal with his spit-jack swivel joint, edging out Tim Lodge’s spit-dog by a point. Eric Boxer and Tony Abell guessed the true meaning.

Take it away, Tim B.!

*** SPIT-FROG ***

1. An iridescent tree frog that changes color with the weather and glides briefly by inflating its vocal sac.
   Submitted by: Hugo Kornelis, who voted for 3 & 5 and scored 0
   No Votes

2. A small wooden toggle used by sail makers to keep a length of cord taut while stitching canvas.
   Submitted by: Judy Madnick, who voted for 3 & 10 and scored 4
   Votes from: Mike Shefler, Paul Keating, Tony Abell, Nancy Shepherdson

3. In a medieval kitchen, a joint enabling a spit to be turned from either of two positions.
   Submitted by: Tim Bourne, who voted for 5 & 10 and scored 5
   Votes from: Hugo Kornelis, Judy Madnick, Shani Naylor, Debbie Embler, Paul Keating

4. [Sailing] A type of ratchet used in powered reefing and furling systems.
   Submitted by: Mike Shefler, who voted for 2 & 9 and scored 1
   Votes from: Nancy Shepherdson

5. A point at which incoming rails meet in a single or double slip switch.
   Submitted by: Efrem Mallach, who voted for 9 & 10 and scored 3
   Votes from: Tim Bourne, Hugo Kornelis, Debbie Embler

6. _Obs. dial._ A mouth infection of infants, probably thrush.
   Submitted by: Paul Keating, who voted for 2 & 3 and scored 1
   Votes from: Tim Lodge

7. Gargoyle.
   Submitted by: Tony Abell, who voted for 2 & *8* and scored 0 + 2 = 2
   No Votes

8. A small sword.
   Submitted by: Century Dictionary, and scored D2
   Votes from: Eric Boxer, Tony Abell

9. A roisterer, a rogue; a rake; a minx.
   Submitted by: Shani Naylor, who voted for 3 & 10 and scored 3
   Votes from: Efrem Mallach, Mike Shefler, Eric Boxer

10. Either of the two supports holding a spit above an open fire.
   Submitted by: Tim Lodge, who voted for 6 & 13 and scored 4
   Votes from: Judy Madnick, Tim Bourne, Efrem Mallach, Shani Naylor

11. A style of brick laying designed to distribute weight and resist forces.
   Submitted by: Debbie Embler, who voted for 3 & 5 and scored 0
   No Votes

12. A nickname for _Iris brevicaulis_, from its resemblance to a splayed frog.
   Submitted by: Eric Boxer, who voted for *8* & 9 and scored 0 + 2 = 2
   No Votes

13. A metal snap that allows riders to quickly attach or detach a rein from a bit ring or yoke ring.
   Submitted by: Nancy Shepherdson, who voted for 2 & 4 and scored 1
   Votes from: Tim Lodge

Def Submitter           Votes Guess Total
  3 Tim Bourne              5           5
 10 Tim Lodge               4           4
  2 Judy Madnick            4           4
  5 Efrem Mallach           3           3
  9 Shani Naylor            3           3
  8 Century                 2          D2
 12 Eric Boxer              0     2     2
  7 Tony Abell              0     2     2
  4 Mike Shefler            1           1
  6 Paul Keating            1           1
 13 Nancy Shepherdson       1           1
 11 Debbie Embler           0           0
  1 Hugo Kornelis           0           0