horny frog
- noun
- /ˈhɔrni frɔg/
- US
:
sapo cornudo
- The horny frog is well-camouflaged in the deserts of the American Southwest.
Examples
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Several species of horny frog can squirt blood from their eyes as a defense.
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Naturalists studied the horny frog to learn more about its unique method of hunting insects.
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The horny frog is often found in desert regions.
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Have you ever seen a horny frog in the wild?
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Naturalists studied the horny frog to learn more about its unique method of hunting insects.
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Several species of horny frog can squirt blood from their eyes as a defense.
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The horny frog is well-camouflaged in the deserts of the American Southwest.
Synonyms
1
7.5
A small spiny lizard with short horns on its head found in western North America
1
7.5
A small lizard that eats insects and has sharp spines on its head and body
A group of spiny horned lizards from North and Central America
A small, round lizard with a short body and spines from North and Central America
A small spiky lizard with horns and a flat body from dry areas in the southwestern United States
A spiny horned lizard that lives in dry parts of Texas and nearby states
Surface Forms
Morphology
horny + frog
The phrase is compositionally formed from 'horny' (bearing horns) + 'frog', so a B1 learner who knows the words would reasonably infer a small horned animal (likely a frog-like creature). However, the established referent is a horned lizard rather than a true frog, so the taxonomic meaning is not fully predictable from the parts and requires prior exposure or cultural knowledge.
Etymology
The noun horny frog comes from a simple picture: the animal is a small 'lizard' with hard, hornlike spikes on its head and a body that looks like a toad, so people used horny and frog to name it, with 'horny' meaning 'having horns'. So, horny frog means a spiny, insect-eating lizard found in the deserts of western North America.