This phrase joined the list of Aggie lingo when P.L. Downs, a member of the Board of Regents and Class of 1906, addressed the crowd at a yell practice before a football game. Downs asked, “What are we going to do to those Horned Frogs?” Playing off the TCU mascot and answering his own question, he shouted, “Gig’em, Aggies!”
Downs borrowed the name of a frog-hunting tool to improvise this response and gave a big thumbs up for emphasis. Aggies have since adopted the phrase and the thumbs-up gesture as universal signs of approval.
To learn more about Texas A&M Traditions and Lingo, visit the traditions webpage at: Aggie Terminology | Texas A&M University (tamu.edu)
Skip past news feed