tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12389938.post110568070150951303..comments2024-03-28T16:53:39.313-05:00Comments on PawPaw's House: Swinging a CatPawpawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959820068377494313noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12389938.post-52212869491812273932007-01-27T23:37:00.000-06:002007-01-27T23:37:00.000-06:00PawPaw,
Actually it is I who must thank you for s...PawPaw,<br /><br />Actually it is I who must thank you for sending me to the sources. The origins of some of these old expressions make for some interesting reflections.<br /><br />To tell you the truth, I have always believed in the nautical explanations for the expressions "the Devil to pay and no pitch hot" and "between the Devil and the deep blue sea." But it seems there are those who would doubt them, too.<br /><br />To be sure, the swabbies of old had a very colorful way of expressing themselves. Probably everbody had a colorful way of expressing himself way back then. Almost everybody who could read had read the King James Bible cover-to-cover, and more than once. And many of them had read Shakespeare. Now those two sources will provide you with colorful and dramatic English expressions till the cows come home.<br /><br />Thank you for your always interesting and insightful writings.Gandalinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09196550750055246901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12389938.post-75188144894012500872007-01-27T20:32:00.000-06:002007-01-27T20:32:00.000-06:00Somehow the image of PawPaw swing Felix the Cat ar...Somehow the image of PawPaw swing Felix the Cat around in the Senate or House brings a smile to my face...<br /><br />OldeForceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12389938.post-35297675688687998622007-01-26T20:53:00.000-06:002007-01-26T20:53:00.000-06:00Galadin
Well, I will be damned. Thanks for the i...Galadin<br /><br />Well, I will be damned. Thanks for the information.Pawpawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14959820068377494313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12389938.post-3872004677308531202007-01-26T15:19:00.000-06:002007-01-26T15:19:00.000-06:00PawPaw,
For the sake of completeness.
The Wikipe...PawPaw,<br /><br />For the sake of completeness.<br /><br />The Wikipedia article on the cat o' nine tails offers a different version:<br /><br />"The common phrase, "not enough room to swing a cat," is often claimed to refers to a cat o' nine tails. However, there are examples of this usage that predate the use of the cat o' nine tails (ie before 1695) and the phrase more likely refers to the practice of putting a live cat in a leather bottle and setting it swinging as a target for marksmen. For example, Shakespeare, in Much Ado About Nothing, writes: "Hang me in a bottle like a cat, and shoot at me." This has been the subject of correspondence in The Times in January 2007"<br /><br />And here's the letter from the Times:<br /><br />"Feline facts <br /> <br /> <br />Sir, If you believe that the cat in the saying “no room to swing a cat” is the cat-o-nine-tails, rather than a live moggy (“No room to swing a cat (or a cue) in the 12ft x 6ft flat for sale at £170,000”, Jan 22), you have been deceived by the notorious underground folk-etymology guerrilla group CANOE (the Campaign to Attribute Nautical Origins to Everything). <br />The first known use of this phrase is in 1665, when it was a charming English custom to hang a live cat in a leather bottle and set it swinging as a target for marksmen. It is much more likely that the phrase refers to this practice, which Shakespeare refers to in Much Ado About Nothing: “Hang me in a bottle like a cat, and shoot at me.” <br /><br /> <br /> <br />The term “cat-o’-nine-tails” for a whip is not recorded until 1695, and there is no authenticated instance of “no room to swing a cat” being used with this meaning during the entire existence of the sailing navy. (And actually no reason why it should have been; naval floggings were always carried out on deck, for the edification of the rest of the crew.) <br /><br />VICTORIA SOLD DENNIS<br />Gillingham, Kent"<br /> <br />GandalinGandalinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09196550750055246901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12389938.post-54318628048574884952007-01-25T17:05:00.000-06:002007-01-25T17:05:00.000-06:00I'll wager Christians know what a "cat" is.I'll wager Christians know what a "cat" is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12389938.post-40786024630192537552007-01-24T22:37:00.000-06:002007-01-24T22:37:00.000-06:00Thank you, PawPaw, I did not know that one.Thank you, PawPaw, I did not know that one.HollyBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17644166795449256850noreply@blogger.com