Chrysti The Wordsmith: Curiosity Killed the Cat

Greetings and welcome to Christie the wordsmith. In a 1993 New York Times op ed article Pulitzer Prize winning author Russell Baker wrote Americans have always been of two minds about curiosity. On the one hand children were warned against it. Curiosity killed the cat didn't it. On the other hand curiosity was also at the heart of all science therefore to be treasured. The curiosity that Baker was referencing the one that killed the cat is the form that's akin to nosiness being perhaps inappropriately intimate. The proverbial expression Curiosity killed the cat is one traditionally used to keep children from inquiring too closely though it's probably futile to expect our young to heed such an odd admonition. Word watchers are somewhat baffled by the elusive history of this expression. It's unclear where it originated but it began showing up in American English in about one thousand ten. It probably suggests the quietly inquisitive nature of felines that seems to lure them into buildings that get locked or

cars that drive away or washing machines that get turned on. The alliterative charm of the proverb Curiosity killed the cat has no doubt added to its longevity. We tend to treasure phonetically pleasing clichés like this one and others such as cool as a cucumber. Get up and go. And right as rain. I'm Christie the wordsmith from Montana State University in Bozeman recording from the studios of KGO all t f and 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.