The dreaded lurgy has its grip on our household.And if you don't know what lurgy is, read on...
> > > > > > > > > > > According to the Oxford English Dictionary (which I can access online, thanks to the San Francisco Public Library... Three cheers for libraries! 💕💕💕), lurgy has three definitions:
1. (from 1769–present) noun - Idleness, laziness, esp. regarded humorously or ironically as a medical condition.
2. (1828–1902, now obsolete) adjective - Idle, lazy.
3. (1947–present) noun - A non-specific disease; (in later use) any familiar illness. Frequently with "the." Often in the dreaded lurgy.
So, yes, I'm talking about definition number 3.
We are all sick here.
Except for the cats.
No dreaded lurgy at work. Just a restorative catnap. Photo: Ann Parker
Way back in 2021, I Slang-o-rama'd (how's that for a verb??) about the cat's pajamas. I believe a post on the cat's meow is a tad overdue. Let's rectify that now.
> > > > > > > > > >
According to Merriam-Webster, the cat's meow is "a highly admired person or thing," with the first known use being in 1921. Boy, I'd sure like to know what that first appearance was... That being said, I was so pleased to then find this phrase in the online Green's Dictionary of Slang, which is a marvelous reference for this kind of thing. Sure enough, they note that, according to Leonard Zwilling's "A TAD Lexicon. Etymology and Linguistic Principles: V.3," (1993) San Francisco cartoonist Tad (T.A.) Dorgan wrote "Some party. Some home made hooch. — Gee — I feel like the cat’s meow." I'd sure love to see THAT cartoon!
Green's Dictionary also offers a gaggle of slangy synonyms—cat’s tonsillitis, duck’s quack, elephant’s tonsils, pig’s scream, sparrow’s chirp—and examples. If you're curious, check out the entry here.
In the meantime, here is a photo of... yes... a cat's meow.
Travel with me on my virtual book tour from February 15–28. Doesn't require hopping a plane or doing anything other than clicking a link now and again! To see all the stops, just go here.
Yesterday, I popped over to Diane Ascroft's blog to talk about the cats in my series, including Lucky and Eclipse, who make their debut appearance in THE SECRET IN THE WALL. (My own feline, the #DivaMissMia, doesn't get a starring role, but don't tell her that!)
I was looking up lists of cat- and dog-related sayings and slang when I bumped into the cat's pajamas. Cats... and pajamas? What a strange pairing. When, how, and why did it come about?
Merriam-Webster defines this phrase as "a highly admired or exceptionally excellent person or thing," and dates it to 1922. Wiktionary notes that the cat's pajamas became popular at the same time that phrases such as the bee's knees, cat's whiskers, and so on gained prominence. Wiktionary also referenced a New York Time's article from November 6, 1922, titled "Pajama Girl and Cats Out" in which a young woman in silk pajamas was spotted strolling along Fifth Avenue, leading four similarly-clad cats on leashes. I'd love to do a screen capture of that short article and put it here, but unsure about copyright issues, I'll just offer the link to the article and hope you can view it yourself.
The Phrase Finder also has a nice post on the cat's pajamas, adding an earlier sighting of the sentence "Wouldn't that beat the cat's pajamas?" in a February 1918 edition of The Pageland Journal, a South Carolina newspaper. Phase Finder also notes that cat was flapper slang for fashionable young woman, and that the phrase the cat's pajamas was so fashionable in the 1920s, it was attached to "a dance, a stage show, a song, a film, even the name of a style of furry underwear." (Oh my!)
I'm excited to announce that MORTAL MUSIC received the "Silver" (second place) Will Rogers Medallion Award in the Maverick category! I was unable to attend the ceremony, but it was recorded. You can view it on YouTube and hear/see what they say about the book at the 36:25 mark. My favorite quote from the one-minute segment: "Inez Stannert is one of the most memorable characters to grace the pages of a western novel."
Now isn't THAT the cat's pajamas! :-)
____________________________
.... Late-breaking bonus! I found a piano rendition of the 1920s tune "The Cat's Pajamas" on YouTube. So, if your day could use a little toe-tapping music, click below and enjoy!
Posts
