Has anyone else heard of “crocodiles” being used to describe lining up in twos at school?

[PuppyMonkey]

Learned something new today. Doing something at work involving editing a woman’s school memories during which she mentions looking back fondly on the teachers, the hymns they sang and the crocodiles. I thought WTF is that a typo for and then my colleague told me it’s a term for lining up two by two at school.

I'm 60 this year and that’s a new one on me.

No, we used to walk in a crocodile.

The school crocodile is very archaic but definitely a thing! It’s a staple of old school stories.

Yes. I thought it was quite a common way of describing lining up in schools.

Yes, as above.

Yes it’s a term used a lot in the Malory towers type books.

not so much these days.

I'm 48 and have heard it. We used to call it crocking.

It was when I was at primary school in the 80s.

yes

Yes.

Also, Tirzah Garwood illustrated one in 1929.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TirzahGarwood-TheCrocodile-1929.webp

Definitely, though I associate it with walking in line, following a teacher at the head.

I know the term but I don't remember hearing it at my school, so must have come across it in later life.

i can remember my DC’s using a Walkadile at nursery.
They walked in pairs with them each holding on to part of the walkadile

Yes, I’m a similar age to you and thought this was a well known term

Yes, absolutely. Very common term for lining up in twos. Usually to try to keep schoolchildren under some kind of control when out on a trip.

I used the phrase when I helped out at my daughters primary school just a few years ago.
Everyone (children included) knew what I meant so I assume the school used the phrase too.

I'm a teacher and still use it on school trips!

Yes. I’m 50, we used to walk in a crocodile. My kids went to the same school and they did the same!

Familiar to me and I’m 61!

Crocodile was holding hands and walking single file as I remember it.

North east 1980s.

We called it walking in crocodile fashion.

Yes to a crocodile but it was always used for describing the class walking in-line hand-in-hand.

Yes!

Crocodiles.

And I am Australian and we called it that!

Yep, pairs of us walking in a line. 1970s and 80s.

Well bugger me. I can’t even blame it on it being a regional thing because the lady who’s written it is from a similar area to me - East Midlands. Just never clocked this one. Or crocked it, should I say.