Tag Archives: etymology

Podictionary – Podcast Review

Word lovers, history lovers, and those wishing to increase their vocabulary will want to give Podictionary a listen. This short and often humorous daily podcast is hosted by Charles Hodgson, author of Carnal Knowledge: A Navel Gazer’s Dictionary of Anatomy, Etymology, and Trivia. Each podcast covers one word. In the cast Hodgson talks about the words origins, meanings and history. The words aren’t obscure things you’ve never heard of, but are often common words we use all the time. Recent casts have covered words like exotic, meter, chopsticks, siren, ginger, and icon. The podcasts are more like small short stories … Continue reading →

Cat Calls: Why Doesn’t Anyone Ever Answer?

Anyone who has ever made the acquaintance of even one feline knows that cats will come when they are called only if and when they feel like it. I don’t know who said it, but I once came across an expression that sums the feline personality up as follows: “Dogs Come When Called, Cats Leave a Message and Get Back To You.” But from where did this descriptive and distinctly unpleasant term derive, and why is it associated with one of our most beloved four legged companions? A catcall can be defined as the “derisory or impatient call or cry … Continue reading →

A Cat Has Nine Lives; Can We Borrow A Few?

Even if you believe in karma and reincarnation, to come back nine times is stretching anyone’s luck quite a bit. Of course, part of the idea is that we come back until we GET IT RIGHT, but still the rule doesn’t seem to apply to felines. Cats maintain their cool in whatever skin they possess at the time, and we humans could learn a lot from them, particularly about relaxing, establishing relaxing priorities and well, relaxing some more. Where did this idiomatic expression come from and what does it really mean? Generally speaking, the phrase has to do with the … Continue reading →

There’s More Than One Way To Skin A Cat: Ugh!

Does this idiomatic expression have anything to do with the cat having nine lives? After all, to lose one’s skin is a serious proposition and difficult to recover from even if we are dealing with a creature as resourceful and intelligent as a cat. But where did this expression come from and how is it related to of all things, the world of cooking? The expression, which has come to mean that there is more than one way to accomplish a task, has its roots in seafood cuisine preparation. It is not known exactly how old it is, but it … Continue reading →

Cat Got Your Tongue? Nasty Thought

As we consider the cat’s place in our modern language (for we already know where they stand in our hearts), we become increasingly aware of odd phrases and expressions that surely came down to us from somewhere. Unlike other types of hand-me-downs, some of these metaphors are more obscure than others, and in this case, its exact origins may never be known. Why are you not talking? Have you nothing to say? That is what “cat got your tongue?” has come to mean in modern usage. Although none agree as to where it came from, most historians of the written … Continue reading →