catholic

be more Catholic than the Pope (himself)

1. To be more stringently adherent to the laws, tenets, and doctrines of the Catholic faith than is taught or required by the papacy or the Church as a whole. (Usually used hyperbolically as a negative or mocking criticism of someone as being overly pious.) I can't believe we're not allowed to eat meat on Fridays while we're staying with Grandma. She's more Catholic than the Pope himself! Ah, would you stop with your protestations of our mortal sins and telling us to repent every minute of the day! I swear, you're more Catholic than the Pope.
2. By extension, to be more extreme in one's beliefs, behavior, attitudes, etc., than that of the prevailing authority or standard of normalcy. After a year, Jake had started using every dialectic cliché and slang word he had heard in his adopted country, and soon, he was more Catholic than the Pope, so to speak.
See also: catholic, more, pope

Catholic gap

slang For a Catholic wedding, the period of time between the end of the wedding ceremony at the church and the start of the reception at another location. This typically happens with an early afternoon wedding and an evening reception. Ugh, what are we going to do during the Catholic gap? We should at least go and get drinks somewhere.
See also: catholic, gap

Catholic roulette

1. slang A method of birth control in which heterosexual partners do not engage in sexual intercourse while the woman is ovulating; more commonly known as "the rhythm method." An allusion to contraceptives being banned within the Catholic ideology and the fact that the effectiveness of such a method is as much a gamble as playing roulette. In this day and age, and with four children already, I find it mind-boggling that you and Sarah would be playing Catholic roulette to keep from having another baby. My periods have always been unpredictable, so I've never trusted Catholic roulette as a potential method.
2. slang A method of birth control in which a man withdraws his penis from his partner's vagina before ejaculating; more commonly known as "the withdrawal method" (technically called "coitus interruptus"). We got so caught up in the moment that I didn't bother asking if he had a condom, so I just told him to pull out before he came. Well, suffice to say that we lost that game of Catholic roulette.
3. slang Heterosexual intercourse in which no birth-control methods are used at all. Why on earth would you not use a condom, dude? If you go playing Catholic roulette with every girl you hook up with, you're going to end up with a baby in your arms before you've even graduated college!
See also: catholic, roulette

Catholic twins

Siblings who are less than a year apart in age. A satirical phrase playing on the stereotype that Catholics have many children very close together in age. My younger sister and I ended up in the same year in school, so everyone always called us the Catholic twins.
See also: catholic

Is the Pope (a) Catholic?

A humorous response to a question that the speaker feels would obviously be answered in the affirmative. A: "Are you going to the party tonight?" B: "Is the Pope a Catholic? Of course I'll be there!" A: "Do you think Dave took the money?" B: "Are you kidding? Is the Pope Catholic?"
See also: pope

more Catholic than the Pope (himself)

1. More stringently adherent to the laws, tenets, and doctrines of the Catholic faith than is taught or required by the papacy or the Church as a whole. (Usually used hyperbolically as a negative or mocking criticism of someone as being overly pious.) I can't believe we're not allowed to eat meat on Fridays while we're staying with Grandma. She's more Catholic than the Pope himself! Ah, would you stop with your protestations of our mortal sins and telling us to repent every minute of the day! I swear, you're more Catholic than the Pope.
2. By extension, more extreme in one's beliefs, behavior, attitudes, etc., than that of the prevailing authority or standard of normalcy. After a year, Jake had started using every dialectic cliché and slang word he had heard in his adopted country, and soon he was more Catholic than the Pope, so to speak.
See also: catholic, more, pope
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

is the Pope a Catholic?

People say Is the Pope a Catholic? to mean that the answer to a question is obviously yes. `You know how to find it?' Leaphorn asked. `Is the Pope a Catholic?' the taxi driver said. Note: This expression is used humorously.
See also: pope
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

Is the Pope (a) Catholic?

used to indicate that something is blatantly obvious. informal
See also: pope
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

catholic bagel

n. a nontraditional bagel made or flavored with cinnamon, blueberries, strawberries, etc. (Jocular.) At breakfast, they had catholic bagels and sweet rolls.
See also: catholic
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

is the Pope Catholic?

A positive response (yes) to what one considers a stupid question. Dating from the mid-twentieth century, this answer should be avoided in polite society.
See also: pope
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • be more Catholic than the Pope (himself)
  • more Catholic than the Pope (himself)
  • outpope the Pope
  • in faith
  • religious about (something)
  • religious about doing
  • submit to
  • the other place
  • other place
  • stick it to the man
References in periodicals archive
He claims that "Americans lack the emotional depth of Europeans," which "results in their greatest positive faults--those of fickleness and ingratitude." (14) Maynard is also critical of the "terribly low average of American Catholic thought and feeling," which he attributes to the shallowness of American Catholic journalism and publishing.
I. Theodore Maynard (1890-1956): a historian of American Catholicism. (Religious Historians, East and West)
In the 1970s, Catholic youths joined the IRA to fight for their rights.
Ireland's troubles: Northern Ireland's historic 1998 Good Friday Agreement has planted the seeds of peace between Catholics and Protestants, but a recent wave of street violence threatens to roll back the clock. (International)
What I am leading up to is a strong recommendation that readers access the excellent publications of Catholics for a Free Choice (www.catholicsfor choice.org).
Vatican Disconnect
Catholic Health Association estimates there were more than 100 mergers involving Catholic and secular hospitals in 1994 alone.
Blocking women's health care: your hospital may have a policy you don't know about
Involvement of the Catholic Church in education in Africa dates back to the 19th century, when missionaries came to the continent to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Catholic education in Africa
* The Catholic Church (including parishes and dioceses)
What do you get from giving? Their charitable checks may be small compared to those of a billionaire, but U.S. CATHOLIC readers have faith that they will get some bang for their buck when they give to their charities of choice
There are approximately 46,000 Catholic priests in the United States, according to a recent report in The New York Times.
Survivor: Vatican: under Pope Benedict XVI, the Roman Catholic Church is jumping at the chance to drive gay priests from its ranks. The move continues to divide the church
Bishop Sheridan's letter to 125,000 Catholics in his charge regarding the "duties of Catholic politicians and voters," intensified the debate by suggesting that Catholic voters should also refrain from taking the sacrament if they support politicians like Kerry.
Critical mass: Colorado bishop's partisan pastoral sparks IRS complaint, as the Catholic hierarchy's presumptuous politicking polarizes a restive flock
"If you're a serious Catholic, if you want to be a serious Catholic, if you want to know what it means to be a serious Catholic, read this book."
Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth
As a child he had been baptized Catholic, but it pretty much stopped there.
Trading spaces: the moving experience of converts
John McCloskey III, former director of the Catholic Information Center, converted U.S.
Breaking the Opus Dei code: the secretive Catholic group's name means 'Work Of God,' but in Washington, D.C., that divine task has a decidedly political bent
But Catholic Charities CYO, which serves the Northern California counties of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin, has placed three children out of 136 with same-sex couples since 2000.
Little Catholic gifts: the Vatican says allowing gays and lesbians to adopt is doing "violence" against children. So why are some Catholic agencies placing foster kids with same-sex couples?
The world's Catholic bishops gathered at the Vatican for a session each autumn from 1962-1965 in what we know as the Second Vatican Council.
The Catholic Revolution: New Wine, Old Wineskins, and the Second Vatican Council
It was formal dispute before a Catholic tribunal, the outcome of which was determined in advance: the Jews would lose and a pogrom would follow.
Now that John Paul II is no longer with us
3rd), with the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hamilton (Anthony F.
Blessings vote causes rift with Catholics