Meaning of ranacide | Babel Free

Definitions

Noun. [B2]

Examples

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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⟳.”

CEFR level