cat

all cats are grey in the dark the qualities that distinguish people from one another are obscured in some circumstances, and if they can't be perceived they don't matter. proverb

☞ The US version of this proverb is at night all cats are gray.

bell the cat: seebell.

the cat has got someone's tongue someone is remaining silent.

a cat may look at a king even a person of low status or importance has rights. proverb

1998Times A cat may look at a king. The cat may be wrong in its conclusions, but others, following its gaze, can draw their own.

curiosity killed the cat: seecuriosity.

a dead cat bounce: seedead.

enough to make a cat laugh extremely ridiculous or ironic. informal

☞ This expression dates from the mid 19th century and is associated with the story of Puss in Boots.

fat cat: seefat.

fight like cat and dog (or cats and dogs) (of two people) be continually arguing with one another.

2013AndrewThe 4th Avenue Blues Mom and I used to consistently fight like cats and dogs. It is hard to believe now, but I grew up at odds with my mother all the time.

let the cat out of the bag reveal a secret, especially carelessly or by mistake.

☞ A similar metaphorical use of bag may be found in the French phrase vider le sac, literally 'empty the bag', meaning 'tell the whole story'.

1996Bernard ConnollyThe Rotten Heart of EuropeTim Renton…at odds with his leader on Europe, let the cat out of the bag when he told a television audience, 'we need a strong Europe to maintain our independence from the United States and the Pacific Rim'.

like a cat on a hot tin roof (or on hot bricks) very agitated, restless, or anxious.

like the cat that's got (or who's stolen) the cream self-satisfied; having achieved your objective. informal, chiefly British

like herding cats used to refer to a difficult or impossible task, typically an attempt to organize a group of people. informal

like a scalded cat: seescalded.

like something the cat brought in (of a person) very dirty, bedraggled, or exhausted. informal

1996Frank McCourtAngela's Ashes One of them says we look like something the cat brought in and Malachy has to be held back from fighting them.

no room to swing a cat: seeroom.

not a cat in hell's chance no chance at all. informal

☞ This expression is often shortened to not a cat's chance.

2001James Hamilton-PatersonLoving Monsters There isn't, of course, a cat in hell's chance that I shall ever see 1999 as you, I and Dr Faruli know perfectly well.

play cat and mouse with manoeuvre in a way designed alternately to provoke and thwart an opponent.

☞ The image here is of the way that a cat toys with a mouse, pretending to release it and then pouncing on it again.

put (or set) the cat among the pigeons say or do something that is likely to cause trouble or controversy. British

☞ This expression was first recorded in John Stevens's New Spanish and English Dictionary (1706), where it is explained as referring to a man coming into the company of a group of women. The idiom flutter the dovecotes (seeflutter) is based on the same idea of a group of pigeons as a tranquil or harmless community.

2000Adrian HastingsOxford Companion to Christian Thought John put the cat among the pigeons by establishing in 1960 a new Roman Secretariat of Christian Unity.

rain cats and dogs: seerain.

see which way the cat jumpssee what direction events are taking before committing yourself.

1990Dennis KavanaghThatcherism She borrowed Kipling's words: 'I don't spend a lifetime watching which way the cat jumps. I know really which way I want the cat to go.'

that cat won't jump that suggestion is implausible or impracticable. informal

1965Simon TroyNo More a-Roving If you're telling me she fell in, just like that-oh no! That cat won't jump.

there's more than one way to skin a cat: seeskin.

when the cat's away, the mice will play people will naturally take advantage of the absence of someone in authority to do as they like. proverb

whip the cat: seewhip.