Mug

Filed Under January 2008, columns 

Dear Word Detective: In Rudyard Kipling’s story “The Undertakers” (in the second Jungle Book) he uses “mugger” as if it were an Indian term meaning a crocodile. The Mugger of that story repeatedly tells of lying in wait before attacking his unsuspecting prey. In your article on “mug,” you indicate that the verb meaning to attack originally indicated punching a victim in the face (”mug”) in order to rob him or her. But I wonder if this might also have come from, or been supported by, the idea of a “mugger” as a stealthy crocodile. (Then again, perhaps I am reading the evidence backward, and the croc was called a mugger because of his habits.) — Charles Anderson.

Good question. I’ve seen film of crocodiles attacking other animals, and the thing that really impressed me was their amazing speed. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t want to be on the same continent with something with legs that short that can catch birds.

“Mugger” as a term for a crocodile would certainly make sense as an extension of “mugger” meaning “robber who relies on surprise and brute force.” As I explained in my original column (which is nearing its tenth anniversary in the archives at at www.word-detective.com), the root of our familiar English “mug,” which appeared in the 16th century, is an old Scandinavian word meaning “drinking vessel” (also found in modern Swedish “mugg,” cup or jug). The use of “mug” to mean “the human face” (”Don’t let me see your ugly mug in here again, understand?”) comes from the 17th century practice of decorating drinking mugs with grotesque caricatures of human faces. “Mug shot” and “mugging for the camera” both invoke this “face” sense of “mug.”

In the early 19th century “mug” took a grimmer turn as it came to mean “to strike someone in the face,” which began as a boxing term but soon percolated into common usage. From there it was natural that “mugger” would come to mean a robber who assaults and beats his victims as an opening gambit. Having once been mugged rather violently myself, I vastly prefer the sort of robber who asks for the money first. I can be remarkably cooperative.

So, was it just another short jump to “mugger” meaning “crocodile” in tribute to the croc’s uncompromising approach to inter-species relations? Surprisingly, no. The use of “mugger” as a term for a crocodile comes from the “magar,” the Hindi word for the animal. “Magar,” in turn, harks back to the “makara” of Hindu mythology, a creature variously described as a crocodile, sea serpent, or dolphin, or a mixture of all three, sometimes with a bit of elephant thrown in. The “makara” plays an important role in Hindu mythology, serving as a mount for several deities as well as one of the signs of the zodiac.

The English use of “mugger” to mean a crocodile is, of course, a relic of the British colonization of India. But its adoption and persistence in English undoubtedly comes at least in part from its serendipitous resemblance to “mugger” as a term for a brutal robber.

 

 

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