Swing a cat
Posted by Psi on February 15, 2002
In Reply to: Swing a cat posted by James Briggs on February 14, 2002
: : No room to swing a cat may come from Mark Twain. I remember him describing a room as being too small to swing a cat in. Possibly in Innocents Abroad.
: Here's
what I found out about the origin:
: If there's not enough room to swing a
cat then space is very tight; the room is very tiny. The cat in this instance
is said not to be of the Pussy variety but, rather, o'nine tails type. The nine
thronged whip was used as punishment at sea. Because space was at a premium below
decks there was not enough room to wield the whip; in consequence the whipping
always took place on deck.
: Evidence against the above origin comes from
the fact that the expression was in use in the 1500s and the cat o'nine tails
was not invented until the mid 1600s. Thus it may be that the saying truly involves
felines, since there used to be a "sport" of swinging cats by their tails as targets
for archers.
Ah! So does that also give an explanation for the name "cat o'nine tails"?
psi
- New Olympic sport The Fallen
02/15/02
- New Olympic sport Sula 02/15/02
- Better and Better The Fallen 02/15/02
- Leaning
more toward the nautical side Word Camel 02/15/02
- Re:Swing a cat James Briggs 02/16/02
- Leaning
more toward the nautical side Word Camel 02/15/02
- Better and Better The Fallen 02/15/02
- New Olympic sport Sula 02/15/02