Where did the term skin the cat originate?
: : SKIN THE CAT – According to Charles Earle Funk in A Hog on Ice (Harper & Row, New York, 1948) the expression “to skin the cat” refers to a boy’s gymnastic trick: “In America, as any country boy knows, this means to hang by the hands from a branch or bar, draw the legs up through the arms and over the branch, and …
What does the saying mean there’s more than one way to skin a cat?
phrase. DEFINITIONS1. used for saying that there is another way to get what you want, especially when other people are trying to prevent you from getting it.
Who wrote there’s more than one way to skin a cat?
The phrase, “there are more ways than one to skin a cat” is stated to have originated from a short story “The Money Diggers” written by the American author, Seba Smith, in 1840, where it is stated as; “There are more ways than one to skin a cat, so are there more ways than one of digging for money.” Later, it was …
What does the phrase there are more ways of killing a cat than by choking it with cream?
(Compare the adjacent entries.) there are more ways of killing a dog than hanging it proverbial saying, late 17th century; meaning that there are more ways than one of achieving an end. (Compare the preceding two entries.)
Where does the saying not a cat in hell’s chance come from?
The 1892 Journal of American Folklore reports the phrase used to mean lack of peace rather than lack of chance: There ‘s no more peace here than for a cat in hell without claws. (Ohio.) However, still the most common meaning was to have no chance, to be helpless or defenceless.
Who said there are many ways to skin a cat?
The earliest printed citation of this proverb that I can find is in a short story by the American humorist Seba Smith – The Money Diggers, 1840: “There are more ways than one to skin a cat,” so are there more ways than one of digging for money.
Where does the phrase shake a stick at come from?
Shake a stick at Farmers controlled their sheep by shaking their staffs to indicate where the animals should go. When farmers had more sheep than they could control, it was said they had “more than you can shake a stick at.”
What does skinning cats mean?
In that sport, “skinning a cat” is an exercise in which athletes pass their legs between their arms while hanging by the hands from a horizontal bar, which might suggest turning an animal’s skin inside out. On the other paw, cats could use an image boost.
What is the definition of curtly?
adverb. so briefly or stiffly as to seem rude or snippy; tersely: The officer saw my foreign passport and curtly ordered me to step aside. Saying nothing, she nodded curtly at me and pointed to one of the two chairs.
What does cat in hell’s chance mean?
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishnot stand/have a cat in hell’s chance (of doing something)not stand/have a cat in hell’s chance (of doing something)informal to not have any chance of succeeding They don’t have a cat in hell’s chance of being elected. → cat.
Where did the phrase’there is more than one way to skin a cat’come from?
What’s the origin of the phrase ‘There is more than one way to skin a cat’? The earliest printed citation of this proverb that I can find is in a short story by the American humorist Seba Smith – The Money Diggers, 1840: “There are more ways than one to skin a cat,” so are there more ways than one of digging for money.
What does the expression skin the cat Mean?
: : SKIN THE CAT – According to Charles Earle Funk in “A Hog on Ice” (Harper & Row, New York, 1948) the expression “to skin the cat” refers to a boy’s gymnastic trick: “In America, as any country boy knows, this means to hang by the hands from a branch or bar, draw the legs up through the arms and over the branch,…
Are there more ways than one to skin a cat?
“There are more ways than one to skin a cat,” so are there more ways than one of digging for money. Charles Kingsley used one old British form in Westward Ho! in 1855: “there are more ways of killing a cat than choking it with cream”.
Where did the saying there’s more ways to kill a cat come from?
American in origin, this term is similar to the British locution, “There are ways of killing a cat than choking it with cream,” which appeared in Charles Kingsley’s Westward Ho! (1855). Mark Twain used the current cliché, “She knew than one way to skin a cat,” in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889).