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up vote 26 down vote favorite

"Herpivory"? "Ranophagy"? Hurry, I need to mock a French friend.

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The OALD says that Frog is an offensive word for French people... Why eating a frog? – Alenanno May 10 '11 at 23:33
mocking is against the rules here!! (only joking =) have fun!) – l0Ft May 11 '11 at 5:31

2 Answers

up vote 15 down vote accepted

I guess I should know !!!

You could create some neologism such as
- amphibiophagy ( ἀμφίβιος => both lives + φαγεῖν => to eat)
- batrachiophagy ( βάτραχος => frog + φαγεῖν => to eat)
- anuraphagy ( αν => without + ουρά => tail + φαγεῖν => to eat) credits @Malvolio.

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1  
anuraphagy? – Malvolio May 10 '11 at 23:42
@Malvolio, yes this is nice as well. – Alain Pannetier Φ May 10 '11 at 23:50
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If you'll only eat true frogs, you're a batrachiophage; if you'll down a toad or two as well, you're an anuraphage; if you'll even dine upon newts and salanders, you're an amphibiophage. Bon appetit. – Malvolio May 11 '11 at 1:31
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+1 for batrachiophagy, as in "βατραχομυομαχία". But are you certain about the translitteration of χ with “chi” even if it's followed by “o”? I'd go with batraco-, but I'm not an expert. – Agos May 11 '11 at 8:46
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@Agos: if it's coined in a classical manner from the Greek roots it should be batrachophagy. But since the form of "batrach-" most familiar to people is the family name Batrachia, "batrachiophagy" is a natural coinage. – Colin Fine May 11 '11 at 11:36
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up vote 4 down vote

I guess that would be a ranaphagy, from family Ranidae (true frogs), most of the edible ones being genus Rana.

I think calling him a ranophage sounds better though.

Here's a link mentioning edibility of a couple of species. It ain't just the Frogs wot eat frogs. Apparently them damned Yankees eat even more! (or maybe I should say 'damned Confederacy Southerners')

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rana is a Latin word, phagy comes from Greek. I tried not to mix up. – Alain Pannetier Φ May 10 '11 at 23:49
@Alain Pannetier: If I'm to be criticised, at least I'll know it was from an expert! I didn't even know (or check). But I seem to recall that such lexical chimeras are not without precedent. Anyway, just to drive home the advantage, I'll also mention that the question is tongue-in-cheek to start with. Besides, if @Malvolio's French pal posts here asking how to answer the taunt, you'll be a shoo-in Top Answer for a withering riposte! – FumbleFingers May 11 '11 at 0:04
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@Alain Pannetier: I hope I've noticed you enough on EL&U to know you're unlikely to be rude. I on the other hand am prone to appear so, unintentionally. And sometimes I actually do get tetchy. I suppose ranavore really should be the definitive answer. But -phage to me suggests more primitive life-forms like bacteriophages, whereas even humans are omnivores. If you're gonna insult the guy, talk him right down the food chain! – FumbleFingers May 11 '11 at 0:26
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@Agos: not to mention 'automobile'. – Colin Fine May 11 '11 at 11:37
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@Colin Fine: I think cars are really Erinacevores (hedgehog eaters). But that's only because I don't know of a Latin suffix for "flattener". – FumbleFingers May 11 '11 at 14:12
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