Cat-ch phrases

[wolflady]

Thought it would be interesting to start a topic like this to share everything funny that is 'cat'. Particularly different phrases such as...
As nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs - Someone with frayed nerves; jumpy
The allusion, of course, is to the fact that cats don't like having their tails tromped upon. Where the phrase originated is unknown.

I have so many of these that I just have to share...

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"In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats." - English proverb

[lhg0962]

How about "curiosity killed the cat". I remind my daughter of that frequently! LOL!

[margaret]

Look what the cat dragged in!

[carrie]

Curiosity killed the cat......but satisfaction brought it back!
Love Borris, who knows.

[wolflady]

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. Wierd, huh?

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"In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats." - English proverb

[Pam]

And of course we can't forget a "cat nap!"

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"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.

Albert Schweitzer

[4 feline house]

I'll have to let the cat out of the bag - one of my sister-in-law's favorite expressions is "red as a cat's butt".

[Troy]

...and "playing cat and mouse"...

[wolflady]

I don't think I've heard the "red as a cat's butt" phrase. That is too funny! What does it refer too?
Here's another popular one:
It's raining cats and dogs - It's raining very hard
The dog, an attendant of the storm king Odin, was a symbol of wind. Cats came to symbolize down-pouring rain, and dogs to symbolize strong gusts of wind. A very heavy storm, therefore, indicated that both cats and dogs were involved. Another explanation is that the phrase came about in early 17th-century London, when cats hunted mice on the rooftops - during a rainstorm, the cats were washed off the roofs and fell on passersby.

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"In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats." - English proverb

[Pam]

Wolflady I am enjoying finding out where all of these sayings came from. Here's another one....."Cat Burglar." Just watching a cat stalk anything sort of gives you a clue here (stealthy, quiet and quick!)

[wolflady]

Thanks Pam:-) I'm having a lot of fun with this!
Here's another:
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.

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"In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats." - English proverb

[4 feline house]

She never explained what "red as a cat's butt" meant when I asked her! But knowing my sister-in-law, she wasn't referring to the general rear end of the cat, she was referring to the you-know-what, which I guess on a white or light-colored cat can look red!

[This message has been edited by 4 feline house (edited January 26, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by 4 feline house (edited January 26, 2001).]

[Karen]

Can't forget "She was the cat's meow!" Does cat-astrophe count?

[gini]

This site is just the "cat's pajama's."

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[Pam]

Wolflady.....please do tell us where "cat gut" came from. It sure conjures up awful images in my head!