Cat

Source : Wright, Joseph English Dialect Dictionary
web : https://eddonline4-proj.uibk.ac.at/edd/main.html

CAT, sb.1 Var. dial. uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Amer.
1. In comb. (1) Cat-arrles, an eruptive skin disorder, which
has a similar appearance to the scratches of a cat; (2)
Cat-beds, a children's game; see below; (3) Cat-blash, (a) weak,
thin drink; (b) fig. silly talk, worthless argument; (4)
Cat-boil, a small boil or festered pimple; (5) Cat's-brains, (a)
a rough clayey soil full of stones; (b) a mixture of clay
and chalk soil, such as occurs above the gault; (6) Cat's carriage,
a game in which a seat is made by two persons
crossing their hands, in which to place a third; called
also Carry my lady to London, King's cushion or Queen's Cushion
or Queen's Chair (q.v.); (7) Cat-clipping, the tea-drinking
which takes place at the birth of a child; (8) Cat-collop, the
milt or spleen of an animal; cat's-meat; (9) Cat-cornered, a
corruption of cater-cornered (q.v.); (10) Cats-crammacks,
see Cat's-hair (c); (11) Cat's-crop, the crop from small potatoes
left in the ground during the winter, which spring up in
an irregular manner in the summer; (12) Cat-dirt, a species
of limestone; (13) Cat-fat, see below; (14) Cat-feet, marks left
on linen after it is washed and dried; (15) Cat-footed, having
the feet turned out; (16) Cat-gate, a narrow path separating
the buildings of adjoining owners; a space left round
a corn-mow in a barn; (17) Cat's-hair, (a) the down that
covers unfledged chickens; (b) the down on the faces of
boys before the beard comes; the thin hair that grows on
the bodies of people in bad health; (c) streaky clouds
called cirrus and cirro-stratus, which have somewhat the
appearance of hairs streaming from an animal's tail; (18)
Cat-ham or Cat-hammy, to knock the ankles together in walking;
fig. to do anything blunderingly or awkwardly; (19)
Cat-hammed, (a) of animals: having crooked hind legs, so that
the hocks knock together in walking; (b) fig. awkward,
ungainly, without dexterity; (20) Cat-handed, see Cat-hammed
(b); cf. car-handed; (21) Cat-harrows, (a) fuss, worry;
a quarrelsome state, at cross purposes; (b) a game like
cat and dog (q.v.); (22) Cat-haw-chap, a fop; (23) Cat-head, (a)
an ironstone nodule; (b) a hollow square box made of
wood to collect wind for the purpose of ventilation, at
the top of a pit-shaft; cf. cap-head; (24) Cat-head band,
a coarse ironstone; (25) Cat's-head, (a) a ‘pit-head’
standing on three legs; (b) the knuckle end of a leg
of mutton; (26) Cat-hearted, cowardly; (27) Cat-hocked, of
horses: having an ugly hind leg; (28) Cat-hole, a loophole
or narrow opening in the wall of a barn; a niche
in the wall, in which keys, &c. are deposited; (29)
Cat-hud, a large stone serving as a back to a fire on
a cottage hearth; (30) Cat-ice, ice from under which the
water has receded; very thin ice; (31) Cat-jingles, the
shingles, Herpes zoster; (32) Cat-kidney, a game somewhat
resembling cricket, played with a wooden ‘cat’ instead of
a ball; (33) Cat-knockles, the peculiar manner in which
some boys hold their marbles when shooting; (34)
Cat-lampus, a sudden, clumsy, scrambling fall; (35 a, b) Cat-lap,
see Cat-blash; (36) Cat-lather, (a) an open slit in a stocking
caused by dropping a stitch; cf. Jacob's ladder;
(b) a ladder placed perpendicularly against a wall in
a shippon or stable, for climbing into the loft; (37)
Cat-legged, of animals: lanky; (38) Cat's-leg, nonsense; (39)
Cat-lick, a hasty, indifferent washing; also used as v.;
(40) Cat-loup, (a) a short distance; (b) a moment of time; (41)
Cat-malison, (a) a recess or cupboard in the ceiling, in which
meat, &c. is hung; (b) a dog given to worry cats; (42)
Cat-maw, in phr. to tumble the cat-maw, to tumble, fall topsy-turvy;
(43) Cat's-meat, a bribe, or present intended as
a bribe; (44) Cat-nod, a short, light sleep; (45) Cat-rigged,
marked with folds or ridges, as linen or cloth which has
lain too long in the fuller's stocks; (46) Cat-saddle, a form in
which boys arrange their fingers in a game; (47) Cat-scalp
or Cat-scaup, clay ironstone; (48) Cat-shingles, see Cat-jingles;
(49) Cat-silver, the mineral mica; (50) Cat-skip, a species of
leap; (51) Cat-snifter, a very short space of time; (52)
Cat-stairs, a child's plaything made of tape or string,
twisted into the shape of stairs; (53) Cat-steps, the projections
of the stones in the slanting part of a gable; (54)
Cat-stone, one of the two upright stones which support
a grate; (55) Cat-stone head, the flat top of the cat-stone;
(56) Cat-stones, steps near a wood; (57) Cat-talk, idle conversation,
small talk; (58) Cats'-tongues, a meagre dish or
meal; (59) Cat-wa’, a stone wall which divides a house into
two apartments; (60) Cat-wab, see Cat-blash; (61) Cat-wash, see
Cat-lick; (62) Cat's-whelp, a kitten; (63) Cat-witted, (a) harebrained,
whimsical; (b) silly, conceited, of small understanding.
(1) Wm. Guide to Lakes (1780) 289. (2) Per. One cuts with a
knife the turf in very unequal angles. These are all covered, and
each player puts his hand on what he supposes to be the smallest,
as everyone has to cut off the whole surface of his division. The
rate of cutting is regulated by a throw of the knife, and the person
who throws is obliged to cut as deep as the knife goes. He who
is last in getting his bed cut up, is bound to carry the whole of the
clods, crawling on his hands and feet, to a certain distance measured
by the one next him, who throws the knife through his legs. If
the bearer of the clods lets any of them fall, the rest have a right
to pelt him with them (Jam.). (3, a) n.Lin.1 You call this teä
maay be; I call it sore cat-blash. sw.Lin.1 (b) n.Lin.1, sw.Lin.1
(4) Nhp.1, Som. (W.F.R.) (5, a) Stf. (K.), Shr.1 Shr.2 (b) Sur.1 Sus.
The mottled variety is generally known as Cat's brains, Woodward
Geol. Eng. and Wal. (1876) 215. (6) Lth. (Jam.) (7) n.Yks.2
(8) Nhb.1, Cum.1, Wm. (B.K.), n.Yks.1 n.Yks.2, ne.Yks.1, e.Yks.1, m.Yks.1
(9) Nhp.2 (10) Sh.&Ork.1 (11) Nhb.1 (12) Der. Mawe Mineralogy
(1802). (13) n.Lin.1 ‘As short as cat-fat’ signifies something that
breaks very readily and in an unexpected manner. ‘This warp is
as short as cat-fat, it weänt hing together a bit.’ (14) w.Yks.2 (15)
[Ill-bred dogs are cat-footed, Mayer Sptsmn's Direct. (1845) 47.]
(16) Cum.1 (17, a) Fif. Also called Puddock hair (Jam.). (b) Sc.
(JAM.) (c) Bnff.1 (18) Lin.1 What the plague are you cat-hamming
about? Cor.3 (19, a) w.Cy. Holloway. nw.Dev.1 [The udders
of cows are chafed by rubbing against their thighs, when they are
cat-hammed and go close behind, Lowson Mod. Farrier (1844)
190.] (b) n.Dev. Why tha dest thengs vore-and-back, a cat hamm'd,
Exm. Scold. (1746) l. 120; Grose (1790). (20) w.Som.1 Let-n
alone, vore thee's a-spoild-n, you [kyat-an·dud] son of a bitch!
Dev. An a cathandid chap thort ha'd got en ta last ─ Bit ha hadden!
Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (1847) 32, ed. 1865; Dev.1 How unvitty
and cat-handed you go about et, 20. n.Dev. Sent cat-handed
Humphrey to the d─l, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 109. (21, a)
Sc. ‘They draw the cat-harrow,’ they thwart one another, Kelly
Prov. (1721) 329 (Jam.). Yks. I'd a regular cat-harass wi' 'em this
morning (E.L.); Ah's at cat-harras wiv 'im (W.A.S.). (b) Ags.,
Lth. (Jam.) (22) n.Lin.1 (23, a) Nhb.1 A thin compact stratum
is sometimes called ‘a girdle,’ or ‘cathead.’ Or these strata are
described as ‘cathead girdles.’ Nhb., Dur. Nodules of iron pyrites
commonly called cat-heads, Forster Strata (1821) 102; Greenwell
Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). n.Yks.2 (b) Shr.2 (24) Lnk. (Jam.)
(25, a) Shr.1 (b) Hmp.1 Slang. Winch. Sch. Obs. (A.D.H.); Shadwell
Wyke. Slang (1859-1864). (26) Rut.1 He cries every time: he's
so cat-hearted, you see! (27) w.Som.1 Kat-uuk·ud. The upper part
is very hollow, so as to make the hocks very prominent. (28) Sc.
He has left the key in the cat-hole [a man has run away from his
creditors], Kelly Prov. (1721) 145 (Jam.). Rxb. Thro' a cat-hole
in the wa' He saw them seated on the hay, A. Scott Poems (1811)
25 (JAM.). (29) Dmf. The fire, a good space removed from the end
wall, was placed against a large whinstone, called the cat-hud,
Cromek Nithsdale Sng. (1810) 259. (30) Not.1 s.Not. It won't
bear; it's only cat-ice (J.P.K.). n.Lin.1, Lei.1 Nhp.1 The cat-ice
chatters where the schoolboy pass'd, Clare MS. Poems. Hnt.
(T.P.F.) Ess. A scum of fat forming on the gravy just like cat-ice
on my duck-pond, Baring-Gould Mehalah (1885) 329. Wil.1
Som. The sheet of thin ‘cat's ice’ formed around the rushes in the
ditches and rhines, Raymond Sam and Sabina (1894) 15. w.Som.1
Kats uy·s. Dev. A dead film had formed over her sombre eyes,
like cat-ice on a pool, Baring-Gould Urith (1891) II. xxviii. (31)
n.Lin.1 A disease with which elderly persons threaten children
who are fond of nursing cats. The symptoms are said to be large
red spots which grow around the waist, one fresh one growing on
each side every day. When they meet over the spine the patient
dies. (32) Wil.1 (33) e.Dur.1 (34) e.Yks.1 He cum doon reglar
cat-lampus. (35, a) Cum. (J.Ar.) w.Yks. Am goin where I can
get some beer; I care nowt for such cat-lap as yon (H.L.); w.Yks.3,
Not.1, n.Lin.1, Nhp.2, s.Wor. (H.K.), s.Wor.1 6, Hnt. (T.P.F.),
Cor.2 (b) Not.1, n.Lin.1 (36 a, b) Chs.1 (37) n.Lin.1 (38) Som.
(W.W.S.) (39) w.Yks. Thah's nobbut gien thisen a cat-lick
asteead ov a reight wesh, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 12, 1892).
s.Not. Yer may ev catlicked the flooer; yer hevn't weshed it. She
just gied 'ersen a catlick (J.P.K.). Wor. (J.W.P.) (40, a) Sc.
They are foremost by a lang cat loup at least, Blackw. Mag. (Jan.
1821) 402 (Jam.). Rnf. O! what was yon? some waefu' howl ─
Lord! they're no a cat-loup frae our winnocks, Webster Sc.
Rhymes (1835) 32. Ayr. I was juist a bit lassock at the time within
a cat-lowp o' seventeen, Service Dr. Duguid (1887) 230. Cum.
Abeun a cat-lowp a way fra us, Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) 214; Cum.1
(b) Sc. I'se be wi' ye in a cat-loup (Jam.). (41, a) n.Cy. Grose (1790).
Cum. It was on one side the fire-place, and had crooks and means
for hanging and drying meat. In the room above, the cat-malison
projected upwards for a good space, nearly a yard (M.P.); Cum.1
n.Yks. Fixed to the beams of the upper floor was a row of cupboards,
called the Cat-malison (the cat's curse), because from its
position it was secure from poor grimalkin's paw, Sedgwick Mem.
Cowgill Chapel (1868) 72. w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781).
ne.Lan.1 (b) Cum.1 (42) n.Sc. (Jam.) (43) War.3 The election
is coming on ─ they have been round with the cat's-meat. A city
phrase. (44) w.Yks. Ah'll just hev a cat-nod on t'sofa (B.K.); My
barn gets nowt but cat-nods, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 14, 1892).
(45) w.Yks. Yks. N. & Q. (1888) II. 109; w.Yks.4 (46) Cum.1
(47) Cum. Bluish iron ore, catscaup, or cat's scalp (so called by the
workmen), Hutchinson Hist. Cum. (1794) I. App. 52; Cum.1
(48) sw.Lin.1 As soon as ever the Doctor saw him, he said it were
the cat-shingles. (49) Sc. (Jam.) [(K.)] (50) Cum.1 (51) Cum.1
In a cat snifter. (52) Dmf., Gall. (Jam.) w.Yks.1, e.Lan.1 (53)
Rxb. Also called Corbie-steps (Jam.). (54, 55) Rxb. Only found in
kitchens now (JAM.). (56) w.Yks. Yks. N. & Q. (1888) II. 109. (57)
Cum.1 They talk't nought bit a heap o' cat-talk. (58) Yks. When
they saw what a dish o' cats'-tongues there was going to be for
dinner, one o' the party slipped out, Howitt Hope On (1840) ix.
(59) Sh.&Ork.1 (60) n.Lin.1 I can beär to hear bairns chitter, for
thaay knaw noä better, bud I weän't listen to cat-wab like this, soä
I tell yĕ. (61) w.Yks. Ah nobbut hed a catwesh this mornin'
(Æ.B.). (62) n.Yks.1 n.Yks.2, m.Yks.1 (63, a) Ayr. A cat-wutted thing
ca'd Willie Pring, Service Dr. Duguid (1887) 110; My own
serving man... is a camstrary, not to say cat-witted man, Johnston
Kilmallie (1891) I. 143. Slk. What ails the owld cat-widdied
carle? Hogg Tales (1838) 656, ed. 1866. (b) Cum. (M.P.); ‘A slape
cat-witted taggelt’ his father often called him, to signify his opinion
that he was untrustworthy, conceited, and dissolute, Linton Lizzie
Lorton (1867) xii; Cum.1
2. Comb. in plant-names: (1) Cat-bed, Centranthus ruber,
redspur valerian; (2) Cat-berries, Ribes Grossularia; (3)
Cat-choops, fruit of Rosa canina; (4) Cat's-claws, (a) see
Cat's-clover; (b) Ranunculus repens; (5) Cat's-clover, Lotus corniculatus,
bird's-foot trefoil; (6) Cat's-ear, Hieracium Pilosella,
mouse-ear; (7) Cat's-face, Viola tricolor; (8)
Cat's-foot, (a) Nepeta Glechoma, ground ivy; (b) Antennaria dioica;
(9) Cat-foot poplar, Populus nigra; (10) Cat-glimmer,
Certhia familiaris, tree-creeper; (11) Cat-gut, (a) Fucus filum,
sea-laces; (b) the ribs of the plantain leaf; (12) Cat-haws,
the fruit of Crataegus Oxyacantha, hawthorn; (13) Cat-haw-blows,
Heracleum sphondylium, cow-parsnip; (14) Cat-head,
a variety of the codlin apple; (15) Cat-heads, the catkins of
Salix Caprea; (16) Cat-heather, a species of heath which
grows in separate upright stalks with flowers only at the
top; (17) Cat-hep or Cat-hip, (18) Cat-jugs, the fruit of Rosa canina
and Rosa spinosissima; (19) Cat-keys, catkins of Fraxinus excelsior,
ash-tree; (20) Cat-locks, Eriophorum vaginatum; (21) Cat's-love,
Valeriana officinalis, garden valerian; (22) Cat's-lug, Auricula ursi;
(23) Cat's-meat, see Cat's-love; (24) Cat's-milk, Euphorbia helioscopia;
(25) Cat-mint, (a) Calamintha officinalis; (b)
Nepeta cataria; (26) Cat-nut, Bunium flexuosum, earth-nut;
(27) Cat-oak, Acer campestre, common maple; (28) Cat's-paws,
catkins of the willow while still young and downy; (29)
Cat-pease, fruit of Vicia sativa, vetch; (30) Cat-poddish, see
Cat's-clover; (31) Cat-posy, Bellis perennis, common daisy;
(32) Cat-rose, (a) Rosa arvensis; (b) Rosa spinosissima; (33)
Cat-rushes, var. species of Equisetum; (34) Cat-trail, the root
of Valeriana officinalis, garden valerian; (35) Cat-tree, (a)
Cornus sanguinea, dog-wood; (b) Euonymus europaeus;
(36) Cat-whistles, Equisetum palustre; (37) Cat-wood, see Cat-tree
(b); (38) Cats and dogs, catkins of Salix, willow; (39)
Cats and eyes, catkins of Fraxinus excelsior, ash; (40)
Cats and kittens, (a) see Cats and dogs; (b) catkins of
Corylus Avellana, hazel; (41) Cats and keys, (a) see
Cats and eyes; (b) fruit of Acer pseudoplatanus, sycamore;
(42) Cats and kitlings, see Cats and eyes; (43) Cat-in-clover
or catten clover, see Cat's-clover; (44) Cat-i'-keys, see Cats and
eyes; (45) Cat-o'-nine-tails, (a) Typha latifolia, bulrush; (b)
catkins of Corylus Avellana, hazel.
(1) n.Lin. (2) Cum. (M.P.) Wm. Applied only to hedge gooseberries.
(3) sw.Cum. n.Yks. (W.H.) (4, a) Bck. Science Gossip
(1869) 29. (b) Lan. Science Gossip (1882) 164. (5) Nhb.1 Called also Craa-taes
and Craa's foot. (6) s.Pem. (W.M.M.) (7) Sus. (8, a) N.Cy.1 N.Cy.2
Nhb. Grose (1790); Nhb.1 (b) w.Yks. Lees Flora (1888) 290. Rut.
(9) s.Lan. This name is in use amongst cabinet-makers, and refers
to the dark knots in the wood, which are said to resemble the
marks of cats' feet. (10) Dev. Doubtless a corruption of climber,
often pronounced climmer, Reports Provinc. (1887) 5. (11, a)
Or.I. Neill Tour (1806) 191 (Jam.). Sh.&Ork.1 (b) Wil.1 So
called by children when drawn out so as to look like fiddle-strings.
(12) N.Cy.1 Nhb.1 Called Bull-haa when of large size. Dur.1,
e.Dur.1, Cum. (M.P.) Wm. Ther's a good crop o' cat-hos ta year ─
it'll be a hard winter (B.K.). n.Yks. (W.H.), n.Yks.1 n.Yks.2, ne.Yks.1
e.Yks. Science Gossip (1869) 70; e.Yks.1 Kaat·au·z. m.Yks.1
w.Yks. The catars are gettin' red (F.P.T.); Off ah starts wisalin
like a throsal in a kato-o tree, Nidderdill Olm. (1873) Fortnit Hallida.
n.Lin.1 sw.Lin.1 They'd been eating a lot of cat-haws and such trash.
Nhp.1 (13) Cmb. (I.W.) (14) Chs.1, s.Chs.1 Ky'aat·-yed. n.Lin.1
Oxf.1 Kyats·ed·. Mid. The Lord might just as well never have
made a Williams pear, or a catshead codlin, Blackmore Kit (1890)
I. xiii. Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.1, w.Som.1 (15) Cmb., Nrf., n.Ess.
(16) Abd. (Jam.) (17) Nhb.1, sw.Lin.1 (18) Dur. Yks. Science
Gossip (1869) 94. n.Yks. Sheea had a... gown on, trimmd wi'...
catjugs, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 43. m.Yks.1 (19)
n.Yks. Hrt. Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) VII. ii. (20) Cum.1 (21)
w.Yks. Lees Flora (1888) 274. Wil. Garden Work (1896) 76; Wil.1
Cats'-love, on which cats like to roll. (22) Rxb. (Jam.) (23)
War.3 (24) Wor. (25, a) Yks. (b) N.Cy.1 Cats are said to have
a remarkable antipathy to this plant, tearing it up wherever they
meet with it. Nhb.1 (26) n.Yks. w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds.
(1865); Yks. N. & Q. (1888) II. 109. (27) w.Yks. Lees Flora
(1888) 187. (28) Wil.1 (29) Nhb.1 (30) sw.Cum. (31) Cum.
(32, a) Chs. (b) w.Yks. Lees Flora (1888) 225. (33) Chs.1, m.Chs.
(34) n.Yks.1; n.Yks.2 Attractive to cats, and used for ‘trailing’ or
enticing them into traps laid where they infest. (35, a) Shr.1 (b)
s.Bck. (36) Suf. (37) s.Bck. (38) s.Dev., e.Cor. (Miss D.) Cor.
The substitute for palms [on Palm Sunday] is the catkins of the
willow, locally termed ‘cats and dogs,’ Couch Hist. Polperro
(1871) 152; Cor.1 Cor.2 (39) ne.Yks.1 s.v. Kitty-keis. (40, a) Nhp.1
(b) War.3, Wor. (41, a) Dev.4 (b) Dev. (42) Lin.1, Nhp.1 (43)
s.Sc. (Jam.) (44) Dur.1 (45, a) Lin., War.3 (b) Dev.4
3. Comb. in the names of birds, &c.: (1) Cat-bill, a
woodpecker; (2) Cat-fish, (a) the sea-wolf, Anarrhichas lupus;
(b) the cuttle-fish, Sepia officinalis; (3) Cat-gull, the
herring-gull, Larus argentatus; (4) Cat-ogle, the eagle-owl,
Bubo ignavus; (5) Cat-swallow, the black tern, Hydrochelidon nigra;
also called Blue darr (q.v.); (6) Cat-swirrel, the
common squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris.
(1) n.Cy. (Hall.) (2, a) Fif. Lupus marinus Schonfeldii et nostras:
our fishers call it the sea-cat or cat-fish, Sibbald Fife
(1803) 121 (Jam.). [Satchell (1879).] (b) N.I.1 (3) Kcb. These
birds... have probably earned their name and character by their
cat-like depredations amongst the newly-hatched young birds and
eggs on the moor, Zoologist (1878) 428; Swainson Birds (1885)
207. (4) Or.I. [So called] from its similarity in habits and appearance
to the cat. They pursue the same prey (mice) by night;
and the owl's round white head, with tufts resembling ears, and
eyes gleaming bright in the darkness, gives it an additional
resemblance to pussy, Swainson Birds (1885) 130; The eagle
owl, our ‘kat-ogle’ or stock owl, is but rarely met with, and only
on the hilly and retired parts of the country, Barry Orkney (1805)
312 (Jam.). Sh.&Ork.1 (5) Lin. (E.H.G.) (6) n.Yks. T'tahm
when a cat-swirrel could gan a' t'way... down fra Commondale
End to Beggar's Bridge wivoot yance tooching t'grund, Atkinson
Moorl. Parish (1891) 409; Science Gossip (1882) 161; n.Yks.1 n.Yks.2
e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788).
4. In phr. (1) Cat after mouse, a children's game; see
below; also called Threading the needle; (2) Cat and dog,
(a) a boy's game; see below; (b) a species of the game
‘trap and ball’; (3) Cat-and-dog-hole, see Cat and dog (a); (4)
Cats and kittens, a child's game; (5) Cat and trap, the game
called sometimes ‘trap and ball’; (6) Cat in the hole, a boys'
game; see below; (7) Cat-in-barrel, obs., see below; (8)
Cat in pattens, used as a mode of comparison in var. cases;
(9) Cat of a kind, amply provided for; (10) Cat-of-nine-tails,
the earwig; (11) Cat under lug, the sweep of a flail over
the left instead of the right side, given by a learner or one
not proficient in threshing; (12) Cat with two tails, the earwig;
(13) Cat washing dishes, the sunlight reflected from a
pail of water on to the wall or floor; (14) to be as lame as
a cat, prov.; (15) to be no cat-muck, to have a good opinion
of oneself; (16) to live under the sign of the cat's foot, to be
henpecked; (17) not to have a word for the cat, to be very
silent; (18) to stare like a throttled cat, prov.; (19) to have
hold of the cat by the tail, to be at home, by one's own
fireside; (20) to let the old cat die, to let a swing in motion
gradually slow down until it stops; (21) to nurse the cat,
to be idle; (22) to put the cat among the pigeons, to cause
discord; (23) to put the cat in the churn, to play a trick, do
mischief; (24) to shoot the cat, to vomit, esp. from too
much drinking; to be drunk; (25) to turn cat in the pan,
(a) to turn head over heels over a bar while holding on
to it; (b) to change sides, turn traitor; (26) to whip the
cat, (a) a practical joke; see below; (b) to go from house
to house to work, as tailors, &c., formerly did; (27) the
cat has a gale of wind in her tail, see below.
(1) Dor. Played by children forming a ring, with their arms
extended and hands clasped; one ─ the mouse ─ goes outside the
circle and gently pulls the dress of one of the players, who thereupon
becomes the cat, and is bound to follow wherever the mouse
chooses to go... until caught, when he or she takes the place
formerly occupied in the ring by the cat, who in turn becomes
mouse, Flk-Lore Jrn. VI. 24, in Gomme Games (1894) 64. (2, a)
Abd. A famous resort for the ‘Cattie an' Doggie’ ─ A game quite
familiar to every young rogie, Ogg Willie Waly (1873) 76. Ags.,
Lth. Three play at this game, who are provided with clubs. They
cut out two holes, each about 1 ft. in diameter, and 7 ins. in depth,
with a distance between them of about 26 ft. One stands at each
hole, with a club, called a ‘dog,’ and a piece of wood of about
4 ins. long and 1 in. in diameter, called a ‘cat,’ is thrown from
the one hole towards the other, by a third person. The object is
to prevent the cat getting into the hole (Jam.). (b) Shr.2 Somewhat
resembles trap-ball, the ball being substituted by a piece of
wood... of box or yew, and when laid on the ground and
smartly struck at either end, it will rise high enough for the
striker to hit it away from him as it descends. The ‘dog’ is the
stick with which it is struck. (3) Bnff.1 (4) Dor. (C.W.) (5) Ess.
(W.W.S.) (6) Sc. If seven boys are to play, six holes are made.
Each stands at a hole, with a short stick, the seventh stands at
a short distance, holding a ball. When he gives the word...
all the six must change holes, each running... and putting his
stick in the hole, which he has newly seized.... The boy who has
the ball tries to put it into an empty hole. If he succeeds, the
boy who had not the stick (which is called the cat) in the hole to
which he had run, is put out and must take the ball (Jam.). (7)
Rxb. In the town of Kelso... there is a meeting once a year...
for the purpose of viewing the merriment of a ‘cat in barrel.’...
The cat is put into a barrel partly stuffed with soot, and then hung
up between two high poles upon a cross-beam;... the barrel,
after many a frantic blow, being broken, the wretched animal
makes her reluctant appearance amidst a great concourse of
spectators, who... terminate her life and misery by barbarous
cruelty, Lazarus Kelso (1789) 144, in Brand Pop. Antiq. (ed.
1849) 39. (8) w.Yks. Shoo goas on like a cat i pattens, Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 12, 1892). n.Lin.1 ‘He fraames like a cat i'
pattens,’ said of a person who does anything in an unworkmanlike
manner. Nhp.1 ‘You are as busy as a cat in pattens.’ A common
comparison when any one is needlessly busy about trifles. War.3
(9) Ant. Hume Dial. 34. (10) Cum.1 (11) Cum. (J.P.) Wm.
Bits a barns er larnan ta threysh, an will threysh cat undre lugg,
Clarke Jonny Shippard's Journa (ed. 1872) 15; Thee thresh
Thoo can nobbut thresh cat-under-lug (B.K.). (12) N.Cy.1 Nhb.
Grose (1790); Nhb.1 (13, 14) n.Lin.1 (15) Yks. She's nae cat-muck
(T.K.). (16) [He lives under the sign of the cat's foot, Ray
Prov. (1678) 68.] (17) w.Yks. Tha hesn't a word for t'cat (S.K.C.).
(18) s.Chs.1 ‘Tŭ stae·r lahyk u throt·lt ky'aat,’ a common proverbial
saying. (19) n.Yks.2 ‘I wish I had our cat by t'tail,’ a saying
among country people, when a long way from home they wish to
be at their own fire-sides. n.Lin.1 I wish I'd hohd o' oor cat taail.
(20) e.Dur.1 [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 25.] (21) Suf. (F.H.) (22)
War.2 (23) Per. Them 'at pet the cat e'y kirn, can best fesh't
out, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 59, ed. 1887. (24) Hmp. Holloway.
[Ray Prov.] (25, a) Stf. N. & Q. (1855) 1st S. xii. 415.
Cor.1 Cor.2 (b) Brks.1, Cor.1 Cor.2 [I turn'd a cat in pan once more,
And so became a Whig, sir, Vicar of Bray.] (26, a) Yks., Lan.
N. & Q. (1888) 7th S. v. 310. Hmp. A bet is laid that one man
shall tie a cat to another, and by whipping it, shall make it draw
him through a pond of water; the man has a rope tied round his
waist, and the other end is taken to the opposite side of the pond
or stream, and to this end is tied the cat, which is then whipped to
make it draw the man through the water, [to do] which it is assisted
by men on the same side with the cat, Holloway. (b) Wm.
Briggs Remains (1825) 230. (27) Naut. Sailors... have a great
dislike to see the cat, on board ship, unusually playful and frolicsome:
such an event, they consider, prognosticates a storm: and
they have a saying on these occasions that ‘the cat has a gale of
wind in her tail,’ Swainson Weather Flk-Lore (1873) 230.
5. A ferret.
e.An.1 A coped cat is a muzzled ferret. Nrf.1, Suf.1 [Mayer
Sptsmn's Direct. (1845) 117.]
6. A stand formed of three pieces of wood or iron,
crossing and uniting in the centre, used to place toast, &c.
on before the fire.
Cum. The centre of the cat was a ball of dark oak, from which
six spokes projected like a star (M.P.); Cum.1 So called from the
impossibility of it being upset. w.Yks.2, Lei.1 Nhp.1 Obsol.
Shr.1 Obs. I'll butter the flaps straīght off the backstwun, if yo'n
fatch me a plate an' the cat to put it on ─ they'n keep whot till tay.
7. An instrument with four projecting spikes, used to
scatter on the ground and so lame cavalry.
w.Yks. In the Chartist days the conspirators provided themselves
with iron cats, so made of four spikes that, however thrown, they
stood on three, the fourth projecting upwards, Sheffield Indep.
(1874); w.Yks.2
8. A piece of wood used as a ball in various games.
Sc. (Jam.) Nhb.1 Used in the boys' game of kitty-cat. War.3
Used in the game of ‘tip-cat.’ se.Wor.1 Used in the game of
‘bandy.’ The cat is knocked with the bandy in opposite directions
by the opposing players. Wil.1 A game played with a wooden
‘cat’ instead of a ball (s.v. Cat-kidney). Dor. Barnes Gl.
(1863). [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 414.]
9. The game of ‘tip-cat’ See below.
Con. Cat is played with a stick four inches long, bevelled at
each end, called the cat. This... stick is laid on the ground,
and... hit with a stick to make it rise,... when it is hit by the
player, who runs to a mark and back, Flk-Lore Jrn. (1884) II. 264.
Yks. Flk-Lore Jrn. 319. Lan. Gaskell Lectures Dial. (1854) 9. Glo.
A short piece of wood shaped for the purpose, commonly much
bigger in the middle than at the ends, which being raised by
a touch or tap of the cat-stick at one of the ends, is stricken
away, instead of a ball, to be catched by the adversary, Grose
(1790) MS. add. (H.)
10. A game played with a bat and ‘cat,’ somewhat
resembling cricket.
Con. Three or more players on each side, two stones (or holes)
defended by batsmen, one ‘lobber’ who throws ball (or stick).
When the stick is hit the batsmen change places, Flk-Lore Jrn.
(1884) II. 319. w.Yks. In Wilsden ‘cat’ is the name of the
Huddersfield game of ‘pig,’ Leeds Merc. Suppl. (July 11, 1891);
w.Yks.2 Glo. Grose (1790) MS. add. (H.) Hmp. There are two
holes in the ground, 5 or 6 inches in diameter, and these are
nearer to one another than the wickets in cricket. There is a thick
piece of stick about 5 inches long called ‘the cat’; instead of bats
there are strong sticks. Bowling takes place from each end alternately,
the object being to get the cat into the hole (W.H.E.).
11. The stick used in the game of ‘cat in the hole’ (q.v.);
a light bat used in tossing or driving a ball; a stroke with
the bat.
Sc. The boy who had not his stick (which is called the cat) in
the hole to which he had run, is put out and must take the ball (s.v. Cat i' the hole)
(Jam.); (Jam. Suppl.)
Hence Cat or Cath, v. to toss or drive by striking with
the hand or a light club or bat. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
12. A soft cake made of clay, salt, meal, &c., employed
to lure pigeons into a dove-cote; gen. called salt-cat.
n.Lin.1 The use of the cat is said to have been illegal. ne.Wor.
(J.W.P.), e.An.1, Nrf.1 Sus., Hmp. Holloway.
13. A piece of soft clay mixed with straw, thrust in
between the laths in building mud walls, &c., and afterwards
daubed or plastered. Gen. in phr. cat and clay.
Sc. The houses were so slightly built with cat and clay,
Fountainhall (1759) I. 380 (Jam.); A claurt o' caul comfortless
purtatoes whilk cling to ane's ribs like as muckle cat and clay,
Blackw. Mag. (Nov. 1820) 154 (JAM.). Ant. Hume Dial. 34. s.Don.
Simmons Gl. (1890). N.Cy.1, Nhb.1
Hence (1) Catter, sb. Obs., a plasterer; (2) to cat a
chimney, phr. to close a vent by the process of cat and
clay.
(1) Nhb.1 The fraternity of plasterers in Newcastle were anciently
styled ‘catters and daubers,’ Brand Hist. Newc. II. 268. (2) Sc.
(Jam.)
14. A ball made by mixing coal and clay together, used
as fuel.
N.Cy.1 Nhb. I well remember sitting opposite Molly in the
kitchen, ─ watching the red glow of the burning ‘cats’ in the
whitewashed fireplace, Tynedale Stud. (1896) iv; Nhb.1 The
‘Crow coal’ burns with a fœtid smell. To prevent the discomfort
thereby occasioned, cats are used in the domestic hearth. Placed
in a peat fire they soon become incandescent, producing a hot,
lasting glow. Sometimes called clay-cats.
15. A chump of clay stone.
Dor. Barnes Gl. (1863).
16. A handful of straw or of reaped grain laid on the
ground without being put into a sheaf.
Rxb., Dmf. A reaper having cut down as much corn as can be
held in the hand, lays this handful down till one or more be
added to it. What is thus laid down is called a cat (Jam.). Rxb.
Now some mak bands, some cast in cats, A. Scott Poems (1808)
104.
17. A small piece of rag, rolled up and put between the
handle of a pot and the hook which suspends it over the
fire, to raise it a little. Rxb. (Jam.)
18. A quart pewter pot.
Lon. slang. At this lodging-house cats and kittens are melted
down, sometimes twenty a day. A quart pot is a cat, and pints
and half-pints are kittens, Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) I. 414.

CAT, sb.2 Nhb. Also Ken.
1. Obs. A large unwieldy vessel or collier.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (H.) Nhb. Catt or bark, from the
coal trade, of 350 tons, estimated at about £ 2,000, Franklin
Wks. (1771) II. 406.
Hence Cat-built, ppl. adj. built on the old style of ship-building.
Nhb.1 The stern was much narrowed, and the planking swept
up in an elliptical fashion, giving a barrel-shaped appearance.
The ‘tumble in’ was so considerable that a man could stand on
the side and paint the bulwark. The last of the old cat-built ships
is said to have been wrecked about 1850.
2. A row-boat with a single mast and lug-sail.
Ken. It's only a little Deal-cat (D.W.L.); Still in use, esp. at
Deal. It is similar to a second-class lugger, without a ‘fore-peak,’
and not carrying a ‘cock-tail,’ i.e. a small row-boat carried by
luggers. It is becoming rare, like the lugger itself (E.R.O.).
[OIcel. kati, a kind of small ship (Vigfusson). Cp.
MLat. catta, ‘navis species’ (Ducange).]

CAT, sb.3 Nhb. [kat.] The shorter Catechism.
Nhb. The shorter Catechism is vulgarly called single cat or single
carrich, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) VIII. 70; Only
used by Presbyterians and south of the Tweed by importation
(R.O.H.).

CAT, sb.4 w.Yks. [kat.] The short form of catechu,
a vegetable brown dye, containing a large proportion of
brown extractive matter and tannin. (S.K.C.); (J.G.)

CAT, v. Lin. War. Slang. [kat.] To vomit.
n.Lin.1 War.3 Only heard amongst town labourers. Slang.
(Farmer).

CAT, sb.1 Var. dial. uses in Sc. and Eng. 1. In comb.
(1) Cat-and-dog, the game of ‘tip-cat’; (2) Cat-and-kittlins,
a child's name for the drooping blossoms of the hazel-tree;
(3) Cat-bar, a bar which fastens the half of a door which does
not contain the lock; (4) Cat-fish, the butterfish, Centronotus gunnellus
; (5) Cat-gate, in phr. (5) to be out of cat-gate, to be just
free of danger, financial difficulties, &c.; of a child: to be
no longer dependent on a nurse's care; (6) Cat('s-head, iron
stone nodules; (7) Cat-kindness, cupboard love; (8) Cat Latin,
incoherent or idle talk; bad writing; (9) Cat-muck, see below;
(10) Cat-o'-hell, an expletive; (11) Cat's-paw, the mountain
cudweed, Antennaria dioica (12) Cat-pea, the bird's-foot
trefoil, Lotus corniculatus; (13) Cat-sherd [not known to our
correspondents]; (14) Cat-skip, a leap consisting of one hitch
or hop and one jump; (15) Cat-strand, a very small stream;
(16) Cat-swallow, the sandwich tern, Sterna cantiaca; (17)
Cat-tails, (a) the cotton-grass, Eriophorum vaginatum; (b) the
catkins of the hazel or willow; (18) Cat’s-teeth, a child's
name for a very long stitch made in sewing; (19) Cat-thighed,
of an animal: having the thighs emaciated through
illness; (20) Cat-whins, the needle furze, Genista anglica;
(21) Cat-wit, a foolish person; (22) Cat-wutted, savage in temper.
(1) Oxf. (G.O.) Dev. Reports Provinc. (1897). (2) s.Lan.1 (3)
Cai.1 (4) Cum.4 (5) Cum. (E.W.P.); In the days of his youth,
just efter he wuz oot o' cat gyat, w.Cum. Times (Xmas 1898) 2,
col. 2. (6) Cum. w.Cum. Times (s.v. Catscope). (7) Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824). (8) Lakel.2 (9) s.Lan.1 A cry of derision used
by boys when playing at marbles, in the hope of startling their
opponents and thus causing them to miss their aim. (10) w.Yks.
Thah may talk as thah likes— thah hes’nt a cat-o-hell chance
(B.K.). (11) Cum.4 (12) Cor. Hunt Pop. Rom. W. Eng. (1865)
64, ed. 1896. (13) Bnff. After death the clock was stopped, the
mirrors were covered with white cloth, and cats excluded,
from the belief that if they should leap over the corpse, the
person who first saw the act would become blind with cat-sherd,
Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 61. (14) Cum.4 (15) Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824). (16) Cum.4 (17, a) Cum.4 (b) War. (G.F.N.)
Ken. (P.M.) (18) s.Lan.1 (19) Cum.4 (20) Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824); (J.M.) (21) s.Lan.1 (22) Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824).
2. Phr. (1) atween you and me and the cat, between ourselves
; (2) rise cat, turn cat, all the way along, and all outs
wherever it goes, a formula used in the game of ‘tip-cat’;
(3) to meet the cat in the morning, to be unsuccessful or
unlucky; (4) to stare like a throttled cat, to stare hard.
(1) Elg. Atween you an' me an' the cat... we maunna say muckle
aboot it tae the Dominie himsel', Brown Round Table Club (1873)
75. (2) War.2 The usual formula of the batsman— after the cat is
cast— is ‘Rise cat, turn cat, all the way along, and all outs wherever
it goes,’ which allows of his placing the cat in any favourable
position for the tip, or taking it from any hollow or inconvenient
place into which it may fall. Should the one who casts
the cat cry ‘No rise cat,’ &c., this advantage is forbidden (s.v.
Tip-cat). (3) ne.Sc. Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 124. (4) w.Yks.5 4.
3. A hare. se.Lin. (J.T.B.) 4. A small lump of manure.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). 5. Obs. A round
brass trivet hooked on to the top of a high fender. Ken.
(P.M.) 6. A bit of slate found in coal. Som. (W.F.R.)
7. pl. An exclamation used to scare away cats. s.Lan.1

CAT, sb.5 Wor. A salt-making term: a deposit of salt
under a leaking pan. (H.K.) i.q. Cats, sb. pl. Hence
Cat-path, a ledge of salt on which the salt squares are
deposited for drying, H.K.

CAT, adj. Cum. Small, inferior. (M.P.), (J.Ar.)

Source : Century Dictionary
web : http://triggs.djvu.org/century-dictionary.com/splash3.html

Source : The Roxburghshire word-book, being a record of the special vernacular vocabulary of the county of Roxburgh, with an appendix of specimens by Watson, George Publication date 1923 Publisher Cambridge [Eng.] The University Press