fine as frog hair

fine as frog hair pronunciation

/FINE az FROG hair/

Meaning

A joke simile that works two ways. Ask somebody how they are and they may say "fine as frog hair," meaning they feel tip-top. Folks also use it for something extremely thin, delicate, or first-class. Frogs do not have hair worth mentioning, so the line is pure exaggeration. Some stretch it to "finer than frog hair split four ways."

How folks use it

• “How you feelin'? Fine as frog hair.”
• “That biscuit dough rolled out fine as frog hair.”

Origin and etymology

American talk from at least the 1860s. An 1865 diary already has "feel as fine as frog's hair." Dialect notes later pick it up in places like Arkansas and West Virginia. The gag is the double meaning of fine (excellent and thin) aimed at imaginary frog hair. It stuck hard in Southern and Appalachian humor.

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