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.

Of course it's a crocodile..... what else would you call it?

Yes but it's not about just lining up, it's about going somewhere.

So crocodile when talking about pairs is not referencing crocodiles 🐊?

I thought the holding hands together looked a bit like a crocodile, hence the name.

See also crocodile clips, which must be named after actual crocodiles.

Yes! When we went out at somewhere from school, we formed a crocodile. That's a term that has been in common use for many years (Im in my 70s).

To me a crocodile is a long line of children, but in single file.

How have you not heard of it?!

Sorry to have disappointed everyone.

I thought the holding hands together looked a bit like a crocodile, hence the name.

They weren't holding hands at the Chalet School. They were older girls. But they were walking in twos.

Very common way of telling children to find a partner and line up. I’m a teacher (Year 3) and tell my class to ‘line up in a crocodile’ 👌🏻

We used to form crocodiles at junior school. It's another name for lining up. I am 61.

And you could break crocodile when you got to where you were going.

There was a song with from the Kids' Club at one of the holiday camp set-ups (sure it was Butlin's, I remember having to watch home videos of friends from their experiences there) that was a 'sing it so you do what you're singing' thing that went "Crocodile, Crocodile... We're marching in single file" - now stuck in my head.

My dc know what this is. Youngest is 14, she only left primary school 3 years ago.

Yes always called a crocodile. I'm in my sixties

I know it from the Chalet School books.

Yes - called it crocodiles and I always think of the opening of that lovely old picture book Madeline (I think from the 1930s):

“In an old French house all covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.”

This. It’s a long line.

According to AI it is in pairs! Well knock me sideways!

How can you walk crocodile style and single file?! Crocodile means in pairs?

I don't think this answer from AI adds much and it's debatable how much of it is true.

Very old term. Didn't realise it was no longer used.

55 from Yorkshire and yes it’s familiar!

I was at primary school in the 80's and we used to walk in a crocodile - in pairs holding hands - on school trips.

It doesn't seem to be used any more - I've never heard of it in the context of my kids' school.

Yep, I'm familiar with this. It's walking in a line in pairs. I'm early 60s and I remember it from school.

My schoolday memories go back to the 50s and we always walked in a crocodile when we were going somewhere outside the school. They took us to the local church once a term and occasionally to a local cinema. We saw the coronation of the late queen in 1953. We walked in twos and holding hands. A teacher walked in front and one at the back to stop the kids sneaking off.

Of course. Not unusual at all to describe children walking in a crocodile.