Cat S Pajamas Origin

There is a related cat expression the cat s whiskers.

Cat s pajamas origin.

Cat s pajamas something or someone highly enjoyable desirable or impressive especially in a fancy or elaborate way. Boy that singer last night was the cat s pajamas wasn t she. The cat s pajamas is first recorded in 1920 as part of the typical vocabulary of the flappers young women whose avant garde wardrobe and free spirited disregard for popular mores epitomized the spirit of the roaring twenties. From listening to america.

English alternative forms. A slang phrase coined by thomas a. The origin of cats pajamas. In the 1920s along with the bee s knees and the cat s whiskers.

Also used to describe another person who is genial and fun to be with. Where did it start. American cartoonist thomas aloysius tad dorgan is often credited with coining this colorful phrase which is used to refer to someone or something wonderful or remarkable. Posted by esc usa on july 03 2004.

The term flapper itself had appeared about 1915 although an antecedent meaning of young. How did it start. In the 1920s the word cat was used as a term to describe the unconventional flappers from the jazz era. This has been used as a term of excellence both in the 1920s and up until today but differs from the other flapper era expressions in that as well as a literal reference to the whiskers of a cat it was the name of the thin tuning wires on early crystal.

Subscribe to our free daily email and get a new idiom video every day. In the 1920s the word cat was used as a term to describe the unconventional flappers from the jazz era. This term has been recently popularized by the movie the school of rock. The phrase became popular in the u s.

Noun plural the best. How to use cat s pajamas in a sentence. It is one of a handful of slang expressions to emerge in the early to mid 1920s featuring animals. Cat s pajamas definition is a highly admired or exceptionally excellent person or thing.

This deli is the cat s pajamas. Primarily heard in us south africa. Dorgan the phrase became popular in the u s. An adjective used by hipsters of the 1920 s to describe a person who is the best at what they do.

The cat s pajamas posted by bob dylan on july 03 2004. An illustrated history of words and phrases from our lively and splendid past by stuart berg flexner.