Anyone know the origin of the phrase "send in the llamas?"

Gave me an almost-but-not-quite feeling of recognition.

I've never come across it before. I still am none the wiser about its meaning. A quick Google gives about ten hits, where it's used, so presumably the authors expect some comprehension from readers, but I can't puzzle out the meaning from the context, let alone find any reference to its origin.

First of all, it's a pleasure to be able to tap into the collective at Wordcraft!

As to the expression -- it's like a cult phrase, e.g. "Vote for Pedro" from the movie Napoleon Dynamite. Also has an echo of "send in the clowns..." It creates a feeling of deja vu.

I haven't heard of it, either, Robert. It reminds me of, "Send in the clowns."

Send in the llamas is similar to Send in the Marines. The earliest mention I've found is in a 1997 story, Legend of the Gripit , by Kathleen Dyer as related by Monique Reed.

A princess who is really skilled at needlework (stitching, embroidery) is resented by her Evil Step-Mother-In-Law (Evil SMIL). The Evil SMIL casts The Dreaded Frog Stitch Spell, turning her into a frog. Her family searches all over for her, not realizing she has been turned into a frog. Her father, the King of Zweigart, figures she must have been kidnapped by his enemy, the King of Cashel. The princess frog overhears the King's ministers plotting a rescue mission. They are talking about frogs and llamas. "Look," one growled, "We cast the frog spell on Cashel, then send in the llamas to step on all the slimy green devils. It's no good sending in the llamas before they're frogs!"

The princess realizes they mean to destroy the innocent people of Cashel. She manages to to convey to her father that a spell has been cast on her, turning into a frog. She then tricks her Evil SMIL into revealing that she was the one who had cast the spell. The King's Army has already been dispatched to Cashel to destroy them, but the frog princess and her husband (DH - dear hubby, I guess) rush to Cashel and thwart the massacre. The Evil SMIL then turns her back into a princess, the princess (who is "sunny-natured and kind hearted") forgives her, and they all live happily ever after.

So if you intend to crush your opposition, either literally or figuratively, you send in the llamas.

By the way, a gripit is a wooden frame that the King devised to hold the needlework so the princess frog could stitch.

Tinman

I'm reminded of the Ogden Nash verse about one "L" Lamas and two "L" llamas...

Kudos to tinman for tracking that down.

The phrase was in a recent ad for financial services, on how to win when the game is not what you expect...

A couple go out to play mixed doubles tennis, but with Central Asian rules. They are confronted with a net shaped like a wye. Three couples play the ball around the court. Cannons launch volleys of balls. And then the umpire cries out "send in the llamas."