Frog In Your Throat
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Frog In Your Throat
Temporary hoarseness caused by phlegm in the back of the throat.
'A frog in the throat' is an American phrase that entered the language towards the end of the 19th century. The expression doesn't have a fanciful derivation (see more on that below) but comes directly from the fact that a hoarse person sounds croaky - like a frog.
The earliest reference I can find to the expression is from How to be Man , which was an improving 'book for boys', written by the American clergyman Harvey Newcomb in 1847. Newcomb encouraged the youngsters to resist the temptation of 'improper diversions' [the nature of which I will leave to your imagination]:
Now let me beg of you to learn to say NO. If you find a 'frog in your throat,' which obstructs your utterance, go by yourself, and practise saying no, no, NO!
The expression must have been in popular use in the USA by 1894, when it was used in an advertisement as the name of a proprietary medicine for sore throats, in The Stevens Point Journal , November 1894:
"The Taylor Bros. say that 'Frog in the Throat' will cure hoarseness. 10 cents and box."
Interestingly, a reference to the phrase was printed just four weeks later in the English newspaper The Hastings and St Leonards Observer , in an article about 'Yankee advertising'. The Observer journalist describes how a local chemist had adopted an American advertising window display in order to sell the imported 'Frog in Your Throat' lozenges. The display consisted of artificial frogs dressed up as English peasants and arranged in a variety of tableaux titled 'Merrie England in Ye Olden Time'. In order to lend some zest to the sales campaign, the advertising agents for the importers invented a back story which claimed that 'a frog in the throat' was 'an old English expression, once in common use, but now forgotten here'. That story is as fake as the stuffed frogs - the expression is certainly American and only became widely used in England when Taylor Bros. began selling their lozenges.
It is easy to find websites that claim 'a frog in your throat' derives from the belief that ' in medieval times physicians thought that the secretions of a frog could help heal a sore throat '. That's true, they did have that belief, but any link between that and the phrase 'frog in the throat' is one of the pieces of folk etymology that appear to float around the Internet and enjoy apparent immortality, despite having no basis in truth and no supporting evidence. Holding a live frog in a child's mouth until the frog died was thought, in the 17th century, to be a cure for thrush (a viral infection of the mouth). No one at the time used the phrase 'a frog in the/your/ones throat', which isn't known until the late 19th century.
As a general rule, any explanation of the origin of a phrase that begins with 'In medieval times...' should be treated with suspicion.
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https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/frog+in+my+throat
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1. Difficulty speaking because of hoarseness or the need to cough or clear one's throat. This cold has left him with such a frog in his throat that he can barely talk! Ahem! Please excuse the frog in my throat. I suffer from seasonal allergies. Boy do I have a frog in my throat this morning! Sorry you've had to listen to nothing but throat-clearing throughout this entire phone call.
2. An inability to speak owing to some overwhelming emotion, especially fear. A: "Elise couldn't say a word in the meeting and looked completely terrified." B: "Sounds like she had a frog in her throat." I looked out at the audience staring up at me, and I tried to swallow the frog in my throat. No, I didn't sign up for the talent show because I always get a frog in my throat when I'm on stage.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
Fig. a feeling of hoarseness or a lump in one's throat. (Often regarded as a sign of fear. *Typically: get ~; have ~ .) I feel like I'm getting a frog in my throat when I have to speak in public. She says she gets a frog in her throat when she is nervous.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Hoarseness or phlegm in the throat, as in Can you understand me? I've got a frog in my throat . This expression probably owes its origin to the froglike croaks produced by a person with a sore throat. [c. 1900]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
If you have a frog in your throat , you find it difficult to speak clearly because you need to cough. I've got a bit of a cough, excuse me, a frog in my throat. You may have a frog in your throat, but that's no excuse for not belting out that aria. Compare with a lump in your throat . Note: In medieval times, there was a belief that if you drank water containing frogspawn (= frogs' eggs), the frogs would grow inside your body. People believed that sore throats and coughing could be caused by the frogs trying to escape from your stomach through your throat.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
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All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/frog+in+my+throat
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English Español Deutsch Français Italiano العربية 中文简体 Polski Português Nederlands Norsk Ελληνική Русский Türkçe אנגלית
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1. Difficulty speaking because of hoarseness or the need to cough or clear one's throat. This cold has left him with such a frog in his throat that he can barely talk! Ahem! Please excuse the frog in my throat. I suffer from seasonal allergies. Boy do I have a frog in my throat this morning! Sorry you've had to listen to nothing but throat-clearing throughout this entire phone call.
2. An inability to speak owing to some overwhelming emotion, especially fear. A: "Elise couldn't say a word in the meeting and looked completely terrified." B: "Sounds like she had a frog in her throat." I looked out at the audience staring up at me, and I tried to swallow the frog in my throat. No, I didn't sign up for the talent show because I always get a frog in my throat when I'm on stage.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
Fig. a feeling of hoarseness or a lump in one's throat. (Often regarded as a sign of fear. *Typically: get ~; have ~ .) I feel like I'm getting a frog in my throat when I have to speak in public. She says she gets a frog in her throat when she is nervous.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Hoarseness or phlegm in the throat, as in Can you understand me? I've got a frog in my throat . This expression probably owes its origin to the froglike croaks produced by a person with a sore throat. [c. 1900]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
If you have a frog in your throat , you find it difficult to speak clearly because you need to cough. I've got a bit of a cough, excuse me, a frog in my throat. You may have a frog in your throat, but that's no excuse for not belting out that aria. Compare with a lump in your throat . Note: In medieval times, there was a belief that if you drank water containing frogspawn (= frogs' eggs), the frogs would grow inside your body. People believed that sore throats and coughing could be caused by the frogs trying to escape from your stomach through your throat.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
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All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/frog+in+my+throat
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English Español Deutsch Français Italiano العربية 中文简体 Polski Português Nederlands Norsk Ελληνική Русский Türkçe אנגלית
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1. Difficulty speaking because of hoarseness or the need to cough or clear one's throat. This cold has left him with such a frog in his throat that he can barely talk! Ahem! Please excuse the frog in my throat. I suffer from seasonal allergies. Boy do I have a frog in my throat this morning! Sorry you've had to listen to nothing but throat-clearing throughout this entire phone call.
2. An inability to speak owing to some overwhelming emotion, especially fear. A: "Elise couldn't say a word in the meeting and looked completely terrified." B: "Sounds like she had a frog in her throat." I looked out at the audience staring up at me, and I tried to swallow the frog in my throat. No, I didn't sign up for the talent show because I always get a frog in my throat when I'm on stage.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
Fig. a feeling of hoarseness or a lump in one's throat. (Often regarded as a sign of fear. *Typically: get ~; have ~ .) I feel like I'm getting a frog in my throat when I have to speak in public. She says she gets a frog in her throat when she is nervous.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Hoarseness or phlegm in the throat, as in Can you understand me? I've got a frog in my throat . This expression probably owes its origin to the froglike croaks produced by a person with a sore throat. [c. 1900]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
If you have a frog in your throat , you find it difficult to speak clearly because you need to cough. I've got a bit of a cough, excuse me, a frog in my throat. You may have a frog in your throat, but that's no excuse for not belting out that aria. Compare with a lump in your throat . Note: In medieval times, there was a belief that if you drank water containing frogspawn (= frogs' eggs), the frogs would grow inside your body. People believed that sore throats and coughing could be caused by the frogs trying to escape from your stomach through your throat.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
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All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.
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