This is the first of a new series – on some
Fridays. I have always been curious
about words and sayings. So I have been
making a little list and thought I would share with you some sayings and their
origins. Hope you enjoy this.
Here we go (this time with a feline theme):
Catty-corner:
I
was reading a book set in the States and it said that someone's house was
catty-corner from the church. It means
diagonally across from but where did this come from. And what has it to do with cats?
Well, nothing.
It apparently is a distortion of the French word 'quatre' meaning 4 as
in 4 corners. In Old English that became
cater which was used for a diagonal move.
And then it became catty (or kitty)
Catnap:
This word is inspired by cats and the way they doze during the day. A catnap is also known as a power nap – or forty
winks.
The
cat's pajamas: As in 'He just thinks he's the cat's
pajamas' - he thinks very highly of
himself. It seems that this phrase has
nothing to do with cats in the feline sense.
From the 1920s hip or cool people were known as 'cats' as in cool
cat. There is speculation that pajamas
for women became popular outerwear and were avant-garde so the 'cat's pajamas'
was something cool and up to the minute.
Fun, Carole, looking forward to the series! Happy New Year
ReplyDeleteInteresting series that might teach us a thing or two.
ReplyDeleteInteresting tidbits! Looking forward to the new series.
ReplyDelete