A LICK AND A PROMISE

Back to animal words! More from my book next week.

When in doubt - any kind of doubt:wash! That is rule number one. ... If you slip and fall off something and somebody laughs at you - wash. If you are getting the worst of an argument and want to break off hostilities until you have composed yourself, start washing. ... If somebody calls you and you don't care to come and still don't wish to make a direct insult - wash. ... Overcome by an emotion - a wash will help you get a grip on yourself again. Any time, anyhow, in any manner, for whatever purpose, wherever you are, whenever and why ever that you want to clear the air, or get a moment's respite or think things over - wash! And, ... of course you also wash to get clean and to keep clean.
                    Jennie's advice to Peter in "When in Doubt - Wash" by Paul Gallico
http://nyrbclassics.tumblr.com/post/48048245508/when-in-doubtwash
Cats do not count to ten to keep their cool - they wash. Licking themselves has become more than just a way to keep clean although it was probably originally just that: a method to reduce the scent of which an enemy could take advantage. "A lick and a promise" means to do a better job later. Dogs don't need to clean themselves. They live in packs and scent helps them bond and keep together.

Another aspect of being a cat is self-satisfaction. A "fat cat" was first used in the 1920's for political donors and is a person who has it all and knows it. If you look like "the cat that ate the canary (or cream)", a phrase that dates back to the 1890's, you are quite pleased with yourself. Rosalie Moore in the poem "Catalogue"  states: "Cats sleep fat. They spread comfort beneath them like a good mat, as if they picked the place and then sat. You walk around one as if he were the City Hall after that." 

http://www.bossybetty.com/2010/05/poetry-tuesday-catalogue-by-rosalie.html

A cat can take care of itself in a fight. "To fight like cats and dogs" means to tear into each other. A dog fights mainly with its mouth but a cat uses its mouth and claws on all four feet. A dog, usually many times heavier than a cat, often has a difficult time holding its own and ends up badly scratched. "To fight like Kilkenny cats" means to fight until both sides lose everything. The expression comes from early Irish stories about two cats that fought until only their tails were left. The stories may have been inspired by a reading from Galatians Chapter 5: "Love your neighbor as yourself. If you bite and devour each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other." 

In literature and heraldry a cat is often a symbol of independence. If it is a black cat it can mean bad luck or evil, possibly because black is the color of night and a cat's vertical pupils change as darkness falls much like the phases of the moon. In China a cat is a symbol of love and if it is shown reaching for a butterfly it symbolizes hope for old age. In many Islamic countries when a cat is observed entering a mosque it is considered good luck. In Egypt it was once considered a symbol of sexual desire (but just about every animal was at some point!). 

A cathouse is a bordello or house of prostitution (a female cat or queen in heat attracts lots of toms and can in fact bear a litter of kittens with different fathers). The term could have arisen from "cat" being slang for a prostitute as far back as the 1400's. If someone is catty she cuts someone down behind her back, which is a thoroughly human thing to do not something ever done by cats. Maybe the term is related to the early use of a cat for a prostitute. To call someone a kitten means she is anything but catty and refers to that person's lovability. 

Some claim a cat has nine lives. Shakespeare even mentions it in Romeo and Juliet. The myth has been around a long time and in many cultures, but probably has to do with the incredible agility of a cat (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua4Gh_4XdwQ) and the fact that nine is considered a lucky number in many cultures. On the other hand, a cat o' nine tails is very unlucky. It is a whip with nine lashes used to punish prisoners. The term first appeared in 1681 and was probably called "cat" because it left parallel welts like the claw marks of a cat.

There once was a very sweet cat

Who thought that she sighted a rat.

But it all was a joke

With a laugh and a poke

So she washed and turned to her back!

THE END

FOOT FEATURES

You must keep on your toes if you don't want to be caught flat-footed! In this case flat-footed does not refer to fallen arches but rather to the condition of a race horse's feet. If all four are on the ground (standing instead of prancing) when the gate rises, the horse will get a slower start. If you are caught flat-footed you may be forced to cool your heels while waiting for another opportunity. In the seventeenth century  "to cool your heels" replaced an earlier phrase, "to cool your hoofs", a reference to a horse that takes advantage of a break by lying down. "To kick up your heels" on the other hand, refers to a horse frisking about in the pasture after a hard day's work.

An inexperienced person is known as a tenderfoot which once again originally referred to horses. In the seventeenth century an unworked horse was called tenderfooted. The first application to a person was around 1850 and was popularized by miners in the California gold rush.

While on the subject of horses a herd of horses can also be called a drove, and a group of horses racing is called a field of horses. A group of young colts are sometimes called a race, rag or rake of colts. A herd of mules can be called a burden or barren. Donkeys (or asses) also come in droves.

Neatsfoot oil used to be applied to shoes, so a guess at its origin might be that it is an oil to keep one's shoes or feet neat. Not so. Neat formerly meant oxen. The lower legs including the foot bones but not the hooves of oxen and cattle are still used to make neatsfoot oil. An interesting discussion of making a similar product from elk bones can be found at  https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/paleoplanet69529/self-made-deer-foot-oil-t22162.html.

Moving from feet to hooves brings us to a hoofer or a dancer like Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly. We apply the term paws (as in "dirty paws") to hands, probably because animals with paws can use their feet more like our hands than hoofed animals. Similarly we use the term hooves for feet. People who make noise with their feet like tap dancers are known as hoofers. We also say that we have to hoof it when we have to walk someplace from the same root word.

Although not as well represented in slang as the feet of livestock, cats' feet deserve some mention. To pussyfoot around a subject means to carefully avoid answering it directly. I've never seen my cats mincing around anything except maybe once when one flushed out a combative mouse, but presumably the fastidious nature of cats led to this expression. To be made a cat's paw means to be used for the advantage of another. According to a story from the 1500's Pope Julius II owned a monkey and several cats. One day the monkey was observed trying to get a chestnut out of the fire. After burning his fingers he grabbed a nearby cat, hauled it over to the fire and used its leg to rake the nut out of the fire. I find this an implausible story since any cat I know would protest violently such ill usage. If the monkey were small like a Capuchin the cat could easily overpower it. If it were an ape, say a baboon, the cat would surely scratch it badly since declawing was not in vogue at the time. A chestnut is hardly worth bloodshed. But slang doesn't depend upon veracity for usage, just repetition.

My foot itches. Does that mean it's time for a trip? I hope so!