Cat's Meow

Don asked about the phrase the cat’s meow. It was 1920’s slang for something worthy of admiration. It was allied to the cat’s whiskers and the cat’s pajamas. For some reason, it became a fad during the Jazz Age to use fanciful animal images to express approval.

Other products of the fad included

·      ant’s pants

·      bullfrog’s beard

·      butterfly’s boots

·      canary’s tusks

·      caterpillar’s kimono

·      clam’s garter

·      cuckoo’s chin

·      duck’s nuts

·      duck’s quack

·      eel’s ankle

·      elephant’s adenoids

·      elephant’s instep

·      elephant’s manicure

·      gnat’s elbows

·      kipper’s knickers

·      leopard’s spots

·      monkey’s eyebrows

·      oyster’s earrings

·      pig’s wings

·      sardine’s whiskers

·      snake’s hips

·      tadpole’s teddies

·      tiger’s stripes

·      turtle’s neck

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