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| Saturday, August 26, 2000 |
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Catcall — A loud shout to express displeasure. The unending catcalls brought the performance to a halt. Catfit — An emotional fit of anger or distress. Having been deprived of her toys, Mini is having a catfit. Cat-foot — To walk silently and stealthily. We have to cat-foot around our ailing grandmother’s room. Bell the cat — To show courage or take a risk for gaining something. Maria is willing to bell the cat and ask the Principal for a holiday. Cats and Dogs — In very large quantities. It has been raining cats and dogs since morning. Fighting like cats and dogs — To argue or fight fiercely. These two groups are generally found fighting like cats and dogs. Fraidy Cat — Someone easily frightened. Priya is such a fraidy cat, she can’t even look at a lizard! Has the cat got your tongue? — A question asked to a person who refuses to answer. Puneet, has the cat got your tongue? I can’t wait all evening for your explanation. Like a cat on hot bricks — To be very nervous or restless. While Mina was taking her exams her mother was pacing outside the examination hall like a cat on hot bricks. When the cat is away the mice do/will play — People take advantage of the absence of a person in authority. As soon as Mrs Blake left the house, the children began shouting and playing. We all know that when the cat is away the mice do play. Set the cat among the pigeons — To cause trouble. Seema definitely set the cat among the pigeons when she left the play at the last minute, last night. |
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1. Cat, besides being the name of an animal, also referred to a whip with strands of leather that was used in earlier days to whip prisoners. This gave rise to the idiom ‘room to swing a cat’, which means a great deal of space in a room or a house. 2. ‘To fight like kilkenny cats’ means to fight savagely and has the following origin: During the rebellion of 1798 (or it may be of 1803) Kilkenny was garrisoned by a regiment of soldiers whose custom was to tie together two cats by their tails and throw them across a clothes-line. The cats naturally fought until one or both died. The officers, apprised of these acts of cruelty, resolved to stop them and made inspections for the purpose. On one occasion, an officer was heard approaching while a pair of cats were fighting. One of the troopers cut their tails with a sword and the cats escaped. The presence of the cats’ tails on the line was explained to the officer by the statement that two cats had been fighting so desperately that, with the exception of their tails, they had devoured each other. Discover Match the following: a. cat’s-eye — 1. any thin or poor drink. b. catbird — 2. a tassel like flower. c. catgut — 3. plant of the mint family. d. cat-lap — 4. wild plant growing in swampy areas. e. catkin — 5. North American songbird. f. catmint — 6. a tough card. g. cat’s-tail — 7. a gem. Ponder Get into the habit of looking for the silver lining of the clouds, and, when you have found it, continue to look at it, rather than at the leaden gray in the middle. It will help you over many hard places. — Willitts Score card a-7; b-5; c-6; d-1; e-2; f-3; g-4. — Illa Vij |
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