frogmarch
nounEtymology From frog + march. Originated c. 1871, from the resemblance of the target to a splayed-out frog.
1
The process of frogmarching a person.
frogmarch
verbEtymology From frog + march. Originated c. 1871, from the resemblance of the target to a splayed-out frog.
1
To march or force a person forward while holding their arms from behind or the side, as a prisoner.
- Maybe it happened during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when no one could work and soldiers frog-marched curfew-breakers through the township streets like criminals.2024 May 29, Ryan Lenora Brown, “South Africans head to polls. After 30 years, has Mandela’s party lost its luster?”, in The Christian Science Monitor, archived from the original on 01 Aug 2024:
2
Figuratively To force a person forward against their will.
- The wind frogmarched me at a run into the house.1940, Thomas Firbank, I Bought a Mountain:
3
Dated To carry a person face-down with one person holding each limb.
4
To forcibly relocate a person, especially in a degrading or humiliating manner.