ranacide
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Etymology: From Latin rāna + -cide.
Senses: examples: text: Did you ever watch a frog catching flies? The old hypocrite sits there, with his eyes partially closed, as if he were half-asleep. But let an unwary fly come too near, when, snap! he darts a long, slender tongue out like a flash, a wave runs down his throat, and he blinks his eyes with a solemn satisfaction that, if it only had an element of exultation in it would certainly render ranacide justifiable under those circumstances.
ref: 1884 December, John Ford Barbour, “Medical Talks. The Blood.”, in Annie E. Wilson [pseudonym; Anneliza Carruthers Wilson], Isabella M. Leyburn, editors, Electra: A Belles Lettres Monthly for Young People, volume II, number 8, Louisville, Ky., page 514, column 2:
text: Adult male albino rats were screened for frog-killing (ranacide) behavior on the basis of two 5 min testing sessions. […] Injections of either testosterone proprionate^([sic]) or sesame oil on alternate days for a month failed to induce ranacide in any of the nonkiller animals during three 5 min test sessions spaced 24 hr apart. […] These results indicate that ranacide is a nonandrogen dependent aggressive behavior and provide additional evidence for the inclusion of this model in the predatory aggression classification.
ref: 1973 June 21, Bruce K[enneth] Bernard, “Frog killing (ranacide) in the male rat: Lack of effect of hormonal manipulations”, in Physiology & Behavior, volume 12, number 3, published March 1974, →DOI, →ISSN, page 405:
text: Generalizations or extrapolations from such studies to parameters of human aggression must always be done cautiously. It is not just a question of whether crowding in mouse colonies or rat muricide and ranacide can tell us anything about human murder and torture. One must also question whether the situational context, instigating stimulus, and operational definition of aggressive response have any relevance to the experimental animal under investigation.
ref: 1985, Cannie Stark-Adamec, Robert E[dward] Adamec, “Problems in Aggression Research: An Introduction”, in Paula J[oan] Caplan, editor, International Journal of Women’s Studies, volume 8, Eden Press Women’s Publications, page 356:
text: Suddenly, his voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper: “The frogs in the little pond behind the house keep her awake at night and so she doesn’t sleep enough. I tell her to stuff her ears with cotton. No! She wants to kill them all. She’s a ranacidal maniac.” / “Ranacidal?” After all these years, Jacques should have known better. / “Well, it isn’t homicide. It’s ranacide, then, isn’t it?” Only fools, of which there were too many in this world, the voice said, could miss such elementary logic.
ref: 1986, Claudio G. Segré, “Calling Home”, in James McEnteer, editor, Easy Orbit (Tilted Planet Tales; 3), Austin, Tex.: Tilted Planet Press, →ISBN, page 154:
text: The pond is now full of frog spawn and I still have not managed to drain it and would now feel very guilty a) because of ranacide and b) because I have no idea what in the name of Darwin they will all eat.
ref: 1999 March 2, Fr. Des, “Frogs - The^([sic]) Are Back!”, in soc.culture.irish (Usenet):
glosses: Alternative form of ranicide.