Kits, CATS, and wives....

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13 CAT EXPRESSIONS

1] Catcalls - Booing bad acting The expression goes back to the theater of Shakespeare's time, when men criticized the acting by making noises that sounded like a fence full of cats.

2] Cat got your tongue - Why aren't you talking? The phrase probably comes from a custom in the Mideast hundreds of years ago, when it was common to punish a thief by cutting off their right hand, and a liar by ripping out their tongue. These severed body parts were given to the king's pet cats as their daily food.

3] Cat's cradle - A string game played by children. In early Europe, people believed a cat could increase the chances of fertility in a young married couple. A month after the wedding, a fertility rite was performed, where a cat was secured in a cradle, and the cradle was then carried into the newlyweds' house and was then rocked back and forth. This ensured an early pregnancy. The string game creates what looks loosely like a cradle, and over time it was called a 'cat's cradle.'

4] Cat o'nine tails - A whip In olden days, people were flogged by a nasty device made up of three separate knottings of three stands attached to the whip's handle. While the strands may have been made from the hide of cats, the multiple of 9 had already been associated with cats; presumably if a person being flogged survived, they were as lucky as a cat with 9 lives.

5] Cat's meow - Something considered to be outstanding
Coined by American cartoonist Thomas a. Dorgan (1877-1929) whose work appears in many American newspapers.

6] Cat's pajamas - Something considered to be outstanding
The term "cat's pajamas" comes from E.B. Katz, an English tailor of the late 1700's and early 1800's, who made the finest silk pajamas for royalty and other wealth patrons.

7] Cat's whisker - Presumably, the wire was nicknamed as such because it looked similar to cats' whiskers. Before diodes were invented, people made a kind of diode by touching a long thin wire against a germanium crystal. This was enough to rectify a radio signal to the point where it could drive a single earpiece. The radio was a "crystal set" and the long wire was the "cat's whisker". [also meaning: outstanding -by same as 'cat's meow, above]

8] Catty remarks - Comments made by a woman, usually about another woman. The phrase came about when a man named Heywood, in the middle 1500's wrote "A woman hath nine lives like a cat." Soon, a woman who gossiped about other women was said to be making "catty" remarks about them.

9] Cool cat - Someone who keeps up with the latest trends. The term came about in the Roaring 20's, and ita meaning hasn't changed.

10] Curiosity killed the cat - Be cautious when investigating situations. The saying originally was "care kills a cat," and began in the 16th century. "Care" was a warning that worry is bad for your health and can lead to an early grave; the phrase was a recognition that cats seem to be very cautious and careful. Over time, the word "care" evolved into "curiosity."

11] Dog my cats - An expression of astonishment, similar to "Well, what do you know!" Possibly originally coined by O.Henry (1862-1910) in his short story "Memoirs of a Yellow Dog."

12] Having kittens/had kittens/has kittens - A state of rage, similar expression to having a fit, going ballistic, losing your temper. In medieval times it was believed that if a pregnant woman was in pain, she had been cursed by a witch and had kittens inside clawing at her belly. Witches, they believed, could control cats, and could eliminate the kittens. Since a woman believing she was going to give birth to a litter of kittens would become hysterical, the phrase has, over time, come to mean being in an angry panic.

13] Like a cat on a hot tin roof - Someone with frayed nerves; jumpy. The phrase originated in Tennessee Williams' play of the same name. As then, it indicates someone who is jumpy - behaving like a cat would if they were on a hot tin roof. A similar English phrase is "Nimble as a cat on a hot bake-stone or "a cat on hot bricks," which means in a hurry to get away



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My two gifts from Bud were these below. After he took me out to dine on a fresh day's catch of shrimp for lunch on the North Shore Bay, for my birthday. I ordered them butterflied and deep fried. Bud ordered a Blackbeard's Guacamole Burger. He had me open a couple of small gifts. The one on top is to add to my collection of handblown glass dolphins. This one has a streak of red. Something I didn't have...most are blues and greens in color. Then, the other small gift was to add to another collection of mine...wind chimes. This one has cut sea shells. It gives off the most gentle sounds. Not harsh and 'clambering'...it's hard to describe...like chorus of tiny bells. In the far distance. Soft and melodious.











POSTED: Thursday, February 11th, 2010
4:10 A.M.
Cats Cradle, black and white kitty images borrowed from 'net.