Cat Got Your Tongue Fundraiser

Greetings welcome to Christie the wordsmith. Has anyone ever asked in response to your silence. What's the matter Cat got your tongue. Here's another English idiom that not only seems to defy logic but also appears to have suffered etymological abandonment since no one agrees on its origin. Several theories have surfaced over the years to explain Cat got your tongue. The most popular points not to the household pet but rather the cat that is a whip the cat on nine tails used to flail law breakers in earlier centuries. The anticipation of a laceration by this instrument might render a man speechless with fear prompting the comment. Cat's got his tongue. Sound improbable. Well another theory suggests that the expression is topsy turvy and might be better rendered. Do you have a cat's Tong. A question reflecting the creature's relative silence as she sits for hours on and observing the world with little comment. Though this cliche seems to have a ring of antiquity about it the Oxford English Dictionary dates its first

citation at nineteen eleven the respected 20th century British lexicographer Eric Partridge is author of many books on etymology and his Dictionary of catchphrases. Partridge says only this about Cat got your tongue. Quote it forms one of the small group of domestic phrases often used in speaking to a child that after some mischief refuses to answer questions. I'm Christie the wordsmith from Montana State University in Bozeman. CHRISTIE The wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.