10 de junio de 2011

Words and Their Stories: When the Cat’s Away

Listen as you read this report on the some of the most famous expressions with the word CAT.





Two old and funny expressions describe something that is the best or finest. Americans might say that something is the cat's meow and the cat's pajamas.

Children might call a child who is easily frightened a fraidy cat or a scaredy cat. A copycat is someone who acts just like someone else or copies another person's work. A fat cat is a person with a lot of money.

You may have known that cats spend most of their time sleeping. Sometimes people sleep for a short time during the day. This is called a cat nap.

If you tell about something that was supposed to be a secret, we say you let the cat out of the bag. If you are not able to speak or answer a question someone might ask if the cat has got your tongue.

Have you ever watched children in a classroom when their teacher leaves for a few minutes? When the cat's away, the mice will play means people sometimes misbehave when there is no supervision.

You may have heard this expression: curiosity killed the cat. This means being too concerned about things that are not your business might cause problems.

If your home is very small, you might say there is not enough room to swing a cat. But you probably should not try this at home!

If you ever had cats as pets, you know it is difficult to train them or to get them to do something. Cats are not like sheep or cows that can be moved in a group. So we say a difficult or impossible job is like herding cats.

We leave you with a song from the musical play, "Cats."

Oh! Well I never! Was there ever
A cat so clever as magical Mr. Mistoffelees!

He is quiet and small
He is black
From the ears to the tip of his tail
He can creep through the tiniest crack
He can walk on the narrowest rail

He can pick any card from a pack
He is equally cunning with dice
He is always decieving you into believing
That he's only hunting for mice