# the cat's whiskers



## mimi2

Hi,
"He thinks he is the cat's whiskers. He needs to be taken down a peg or two."
What does it mean "the cat's whiskers"?
Thanks.


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## Joelline

Oh my goodness, I haven't heard this expression in 20 years at least!  It's a very, very outdated expression that means "he thinks he is really someone special" (that is, he's got a big ego).  

I think the expression dates from the 1920's.  There's also another expression from the same era that means something similar:  "He's the cat's meow") which, of course, means "he's very special" or "he's wonderful."


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## gaer

Joelline said:


> Oh my goodness, I haven't heard this expression in 20 years at least! It's a very, very outdated expression that means "he thinks he is really someone special" (that is, he's got a big ego).
> 
> I think the expression dates from the 1920's. There's also another expression from the same era that means something similar: "He's the cat's meow") which, of course, means "he's very special" or "he's wonderful."


I agree with you, but how would you say this in modern English? I'm stuck!


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## Joelline

I couldn't think of anything either, gaer! I'm still thinking!

In the affirmative "He's the cat's meow (or whiskers)," I think the modern equivalent might be something like "He's hot," (or "he's cool!") but you wouldn't use either in the negative.


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## gaer

Joelline said:


> I couldn't think of anything either, gaer! I'm still thinking!
> 
> In the affirmative "He's the cat's meow (or whiskers)," I think the modern equivalent might be something like "He's hot," (or "he's cool!") but you wouldn't use either in the negative.


I was only able to think of this:

He thinks he's God's gift [to the world].

Surely there is something shorter and more clever!


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## mimi2

Joelline said:


> I couldn't think of anything either, gaer! I'm still thinking!
> 
> In the affirmative "He's the cat's meow (or whiskers)," I think the modern equivalent might be something like "He's hot," (or "he's cool!") but you wouldn't use either in the negative.


Hi, Joelline.
Why not using in the negative?
Would you please explain?
Thanks.


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## Joelline

Actually, I think you've got it, Gaer!  

I checked urbandictionary.com, and they say it is an adjective, "used to describe something that is *'great'*.

Variations include the cat's pajamas, the cat's meow & the bee's knees.
_Emma is the Cat's Whiskers!"_

By the way, Wiki says it's a BE expression that never made it across the pond to the US!  Shows what they know!


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## Joelline

Gaer,

Could you please explain to Mimi why we generally don't use "He's hot" or "he's cool" in the negative???? It's 2 in the a.m. here, and my brain has stopped functioning! All I can think to say is that we just don't! Perhaps it has something to do with taking either expression literally?

I'm off to bed, now, for some much-needed sleep.


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## gaer

Joelline said:


> Gaer,
> 
> Could you please explain to Mimi why we generally don't use "He's hot" or "he's cool" in the negative???? It's 2 in the a.m. here, and my brain has stopped functioning! All I can think to say is that we just don't! Perhaps it has something to do with taking either expression literally?
> 
> I'm off to bed, now, for some much-needed sleep.


I'm not sure myself.

Perhaps:

He thinks he's _so_ cool/hot. He needs an attitude adjustment.

Adding "so" and stressing it seems to make a difference. Does it do that for you?

Unfortunately the way I would normally express such an idea is a bit more "colorful".


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## Joelline

Gaer,

Another good suggestion!  I agree about the intensifier "so."  
Several suggestions would fit nicely into Mimi's original sentence:

"He thinks he is so cool. He needs to be taken down a peg or two."
"He thinks he is so great. He needs to be taken down a peg or two."
"He thinks he is God's gift (to the world). He needs to be taken down a peg or two."


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## JamesM

My kids say, "he thinks he's all that."  That might be another possibility for a more current expression.


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## Joelline

That's probably a good idea, James.  I was afraid that "cool" was just a bit dated (but still sounds OK to me!).


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## nichec

JamesM said:


> My kids say, "he thinks he's all that." That might be another possibility for a more current expression.


 
I LOVE this one, but I think it can be used in positive ways too.
There's actually a teen movie called "She's All That", which means "She rocks/rules!" (or even "She's phenomenon"), but I guess when you add "he/she thinks" to the beginning of the sentence, the meaning changes.


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## liliput

I've not heard "_the cat's whiskers_" before, but I have heard "_*the cat's pyjamas*_", "_*the bees knees*_" and of course ever popular, though rather less polite, "*the dog's bollocks*". I think you can probably make up your own as long as it involves part of an animal and sounds funny.


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## gaer

Joelline said:


> That's probably a good idea, James. I was afraid that "cool" was just a bit dated (but still sounds OK to me!).


This may surprise you. It surprised me:

Results 21 - 30 of about 10,300 for "He thinks he is so cool".


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## Teafrog

liliput said:


> I've not heard "_the cat's whiskers_" before, but I have heard "_*the cat's pyjamas*_", "_*the bees knees*_" and of course ever popular, though rather less polite, "*the dog's bollocks*". I think you can probably make up your own as long as it involves part of an animal and sounds funny.



I've heard of "the cat's whiskers" and it's still in common usage, in London at least. However, but I've never heard of "the cat's pyjamas" (have you made this one up, Liliput?). As far as "the dogs bollock", although used in our part of the world, that's a little crude to teach foreigners and is best left to students, footballfans, etc., in my opinion. The "bees knees" is another good one.

All, of course, meaning "the best".

Perhaps mimi2 might like to know the origins - or the logic behind - all these expressions…, could anyone assist with that (good luck  )


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## Packard

For some reason, "he's bad" means "he's hot".  

So, we could write:

"He thinks he's so bad, but the fact of the matter is he's not anything, and someone should let him know it."

NOTE:  I never use this expression myself, and I feel a bit awkward using it.  I have heard it used, and I do think I have used it as per the current idiom.


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## cuchuflete

gaer said:


> He thinks he's God's gift [to the world].
> 
> Surely there is something shorter and more clever!


He's a legend in his own mind.

​


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## liliput

Teafrog said:


> I've heard of "the cat's whiskers" and it's still in common usage, in London at least. However, but I've never heard of "the cat's pyjamas" (have you made this one up, Liliput?). As far as "the dogs bollock*s*", although used in our part of the world, that's a little crude to teach foreigners and is best left to students, footballfans, etc., in my opinion. The "bees knees" is another good one.
> 
> All, of course, meaning "the best".
> 
> Perhaps mimi2 might like to know the origins - or the logic behind - all these expressions…, could anyone assist with that (good luck  )


 
If you look at the rest of the thread you'll see that Joelline also mentions "the cat's pyjamas", albeit with a rather odd spelling . I remember these expressions from childrens' books and it's the only place I can recall seeing them.
I did point out that "the dog's bollocks" is impolite, but I think a visitor to Britain is far more likely to encounter this expression than the others mentioned. If non-natives are aware of the expression it will spare them the potential _faux pas_ of asking about it (or worse - using it) in polite company after hearing it on the street. Bear in mind that large numbers of foreign visitors _are_ students and many are probably football fans too.


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## Teafrog

liliput said:


> If you look at the rest of the thread you'll see that Joelline also mentions "the cat's pyjamas", albeit with a rather odd spelling . I remember these expressions from childrens' books and it's the only place I can recall seeing them.
> I did point out that "the dog's bollocks" is impolite, but I think a visitor to Britain is far more likely to encounter this expression than the others mentioned. If non-natives are aware of the expression it will spare them the potential _faux pas_ of asking about it (or worse - using it) in polite company after hearing it on the street. Bear in mind that large numbers of foreign visitors _are_ students and many are probably football fans too.




Thanks for correcting my spelling of "dog's bollocks" (also noticed a few other typos in my text  , must have been in a rush…) and telling your reasons for inserting it; you're quite right, foreigners should be made aware of its existence. I had noticed you warned us of its 'roughness" by using a little English understatement (e.g. "though rather less polite") and thought I would make it a little clearer for our foreign friends  
Joelline only copied the spelling from the link she supplied; I noticed the example she's providing come from 1950's USA (?!). The strange thing is that it is spelt the correct way somewhere else on that site. I had a quick look around it (it's an informative site, check it out, people!) and came across this howler: "Holy shit that guy just beer (sic) bonged a 40, he is the cat's tits"  . Isn't that a gem? (… from the same era)


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## liliput

Teafrog said:


> Thanks for correcting my spelling of "dog's bollocks" (also noticed a few other typos in my text  , must have been in a rush…) and telling your reasons for inserting it; you're quite right, foreigners should be made aware of its existence. I had noticed you warned us of its 'roughness" by using a little English understatement (e.g. "though rather less polite") and thought I would make it a little clearer for our foreign friends
> Joelline only copied the spelling from the link she supplied; I noticed the example she's providing come from 1950's USA (?!). The strange thing is that it is spelt the correct way somewhere else on that site. I had a quick look around it (it's an informative site, check it out, people!) and came across this howler: "Holy shit that guy just beer (sic) bonged a 40, he is the cat's tits"  . Isn't that a gem? (… from the same era)


 
I assumed "pajamas" was an American spelling, is it? Or is it a typo? "The cat's tits" is pure genius, although about as polite as "the dog's bollocks". I've also heard "the dog's bollocks" shortened to "the dog's" to avoid using the word "bollocks". I wonder if there are any more such expressions, someone must have invented more.


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## Arrius

Nobody has mentioned so far *he thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread *(though I personally find what is, possibly unjustly, known in the UK as "Super American Sliced Bread" the most insipid thing since cotton wool).

re earlier postings: 
a) the spelling of _pyjamas_ in the quoted expression "*the cat's pajamas*" is so because this is an American expression and they choose to spell this Persian borrowing that way. 
b) I had thought that *bad* used perversely or, at least confusingly, to mean _*very good*_ was a recent invention from Harlem popularised by Michael Jackson, but it seems,in fact, to have had a long history in African American slang and was used by the earliest Jazz musicians such as Fats Waller and later by their white imitators too.


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## Teafrog

Arrius said:


> Nobody has mentioned so far *he thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread *(though I personally find what is, possibly unjustly, known in the UK as "Super American Sliced Bread" the most insipid thing since cotton wool).



This is a valid one, but it is such a mouthful that I noticed only few people use it these days (in the UK, at least). I have come across American slided bread at some stage…, and I think that British sliced bread (one of them being called "Mother's Pride", very surprisingly!) should also be banned outright for the same reasons. They make very good wallpaper paste, though


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## Joelline

Hi, 
The item of clothing is spelled "pyjamas" in the US, too!  The other spelling is a typo. My use of "pajamas" was due to the link from urbandictionary.com! You can click on it, and see the dictionary's entry for "the cat's pyjamas." It's their typo, not mine (though I suppose I should have corrected it here). 

I know most of these expressions because I used to love to watch old movies (from the '30s) where these expressions were frequently used. I do remember my mother using a couple of them, but in jest (I always thought she was doing an imitation of a '30's movie star).


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## gaer

cuchuflete said:


> He's a legend in his own mind.
> 
> ​


I like that, but I would follow with something other than "take someone down a peg", which also sounds a bit formal or old-fashioned to me.


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## Arrius

Joelline said:


> Hi,
> The item of clothing is spelled "pyjamas" in the US, too! The other spelling is a typo. My use of "pajamas" was due to the link from urbandictionary.com! You can click on it, and see the dictionary's entry for "the cat's pyjamas." It's their typo, not mine (though I suppose I should have corrected it here).
> 
> I know most of these expressions because I used to love to watch old movies (from the '30s) where these expressions were frequently used. I do remember my mother using a couple of them, but in jest (I always thought she was doing an imitation of a '30's movie star).


 
To my shame. I have never yet visited your great country, though I have very recently acquired an Iowan daughter-in-law and so am anxious to add fluent American to my linguistic repertoire. I can quite believe that the article of clothing in question may also be spelt "pyjamas" in the US of A, but after, incredulously, checking on the OneLookDictionary site I discovered that there were as many as *17 *dictionaries including the all-American Webster's which have the spelling *pajamas* (possibly as well as the other):
http://www.onelook.com/?w=pajamas&ls=a

Was it Cole Porter who wrote about the young man thoroughly confused by love who sang, "I said my *pajamas* and put on my prayers"? And wasn't there a Doris Day film/movie called "The* Pajama* Game" of the innocent "merry-marital-mix-up" genre?


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## Joelline

Good sleuthing, Arrius!  I suppose that I should have said that *I* don't use the spelling "pajamas" and that it always looks like a misspelled word to me. You should ask your daughter-in-law what she uses (it might be a great conversation starter!).


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## AWordLover

Hi,

These are somewhat common in AE.

He thinks he's hot shit/stuff...
He thinks he's the shit...

Both of these mean that he thinks he's great, I would expect the first to be much more common than the second.


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## nichec

AWordLover said:


> Hi,
> 
> These are somewhat common in AE.
> 
> He thinks he's hot shit/stuff...
> He thinks he's the shit...
> 
> Both of these mean that he thinks he's great, I would expect the first to be much more common than the second.


 
Oh, this sounds like the kind of sentence you come across in the rap (songs).....


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## Arrius

Another expression has just occurred to me that probably originated in London, but has been known for decades, if not centuries throughout the UK: 
"*He thinks the sun shines out of his arsehole*" (pronounced /'iz a:sol/ not American _his ass-hole_ which to us Brits sounds like a pit for keeping donkeys in). This saying, whilst extremely vulgar, is exceedingly graphic too and contains the essence of Cockney wit.


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## evilregis

I've heard "the cat's ass" as well.


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## liliput

I've just come across an interesting pair of suggestions for the origin of "the bees knees":
1) There's lots of wonderful delicious pollen around a bee's knees.
2) Corruption of "the business" - "He's the business" (this expression is still used)
I hasten to add that there's no actual evidence for either of these.


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## liliput

Oh I love this! Especially the phrases that didn't quite make it:


> "the bee's knees"(Phrase Origins)
> 
> 
> A bee's "corbiculae", or pollen-baskets, are located on itstibiae (midsegments of its legs).  The phrase "the bee's knees",meaning "the height of excellence", became popular in the U.S. inthe 1920s, along with "the cat's whiskers" (possibly from the useof these in radio crystal sets), "the cat's pajamas" (pyjamas werestill new enough to be daring), and similar phrases which made lesssense and didn't endure:  "the eel's ankle", "the elephant'sinstep", "the snake's hip".  Stories in circulation about thephrase's origin include:  "b's and e's", short for "be-alls andend-alls"; and a corruption of "business".
> 
> Source: [Mark Israel, 'Phrase Origins: "the bee's knees"', The alt.usage.english FAQ file,(line 4407), (29 Sept 1997)]


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## liliput

A good modern equivalent:
He's full of himself.


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## Arrius

Joelline said:


> Good sleuthing, Arrius! I suppose that I should have said that *I* don't use the spelling "pajamas" and that it always looks like a misspelled word to me. You should ask your daughter-in-law what she uses (it might be a great conversation starter!).


 
I followed your instrucions and e-mailed my boy now in Indiana, asking him how his new bride WRITES pyjamas/pajamas, and his reply was:

*Emmy says pajamas.*

*Love, K*


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## gaer

Results 1 - 10 of about 105,000 for "the cat's pajamas".
Results 1 - 10 of about 17,600 for "the cat's pyjamas". 

Cambridge
pyjamas
plural noun
MAINLY UK (US USUALLY pajamas) soft loose clothing which is worn in bed and consists of trousers and a type of shirt: I need a new pair of pyjamas.

MW
pyjamas
chiefly British variant of PAJAMAS

For me that leaves no doubt that that we are talking about another AE/BE spelling.


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## cuchuflete

> shit don't stink :                                           the expression *"He thinks his shit don't stink!"* is used                 to describe someone who thinks they are more important or sophisticated than they really are.


source

Whatever happened to PJs?


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## Arrius

Results 1 - 10 of about 105,000 for "the cat's pajamas".
Results 1 - 10 of about 17,600 for "the cat's pyjamas".* (gaer)*

We Brits, and especially I, are not so well acquainted with the statistics of market research and I am unsure what the above means. Do I take it that in the US, pajamas is used in proportion to pyjamas in the ratio of 105 : 17.6, or otherwise expressed, pyjamas is used only 16.76% of the time?


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## liliput

I think the fact that "pajamas" is an AE spelling and "pyjamas" is BE is now well established. Shall we get back to the subject of the original post?


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## cuchuflete

Hi Arrius,

I believe what gaer presented are the results of two google queries.  That tells us what is found on web sites.
This doesn't discriminate among countries of origin, and is not a definitive reflection of all written work in English. With those qualifications, it still gives a good general sense of the relative usage of each spelling.
The absolute numbers also show that each spelling in the given phrase is used with relative frequency...these are not rarities, such as--
Results *1* - *20* of about *468* for * "The dog's pajamas"* or
Results *1* - *9* of *9* for * "The dog's pyjamas"*.

For internet sites with the .uk suffix, we find:

 Results *1* - *20* of about *2,820* for * "The cat's pyjamas" site:.uk*.
Results *1* - *20* of about *8,830* for * "The cat's pajamas" site:.uk*.

This tells me that the pyjamas spelling is used proportionally more by .uk sites than for all web sites.

These are useful generalities, but not a good basis for scholarly declarations.


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## cuchuflete

liliput said:


> I think the fact that "pajamas" is an AE spelling and "pyjamas" is BE is now well established. Shall we get back to the subject of the original post?



Thanks for the reminder, liliput.



> "He thinks he is the cat's whiskers. He needs to be taken down a peg or two."
> _* What does it mean "the cat's whiskers"?*_


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## Forero

mimi2 said:


> Hi,
> "He thinks he is the cat's whiskers. He needs to be taken down a peg or two."
> What does it mean "the cat's whiskers"?
> Thanks.



He thinks he's the sun and the moon and the stars.  He needs to be taken down a *notch* or two.

This and the original are mixed metaphors, and the last sentence I think is understatement.  I'll try my hand at "un-mixing":

He thinks he's the Cutty Sark.  He needs someone to take the wind out of his sails.

He thinks he's Daniel in the Lion's Den.  He needs to meet a hungry lion.

He thinks he's the King of the Mountain.  He needs to be taken down from his mole hill.

In plain English, it means he is proud and egotistical and needs to be humbled.


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