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There are lots of apparent answers to this, so I'm not certain the one I know is correct, but it's origins are quite old, so it has a chance...
The "cat" in question is the cat-o-nine-tails. This is a multi (9) stranded short whip. It was favoured in the navy as a means of punishing sailors - principally because it needed less space to operate effectively so could be used in the confines of a ship ("enough space to swing a cat").
The cat was used to flog the sailors - and it had the effect of removing bits of their skin. This tended to clog the cat and it became less effective. To maintain its effectiveness the skin debris had to be removed (skin the cat). There were several different methods that could be employed to do this - some ran their fingers through the strands, others used a bucket of water, etc. However it was done, the strands were separated and effectiveness restored.
As an aside, the cat was generally kept in a bag to maintain the condition of the strands - hence "letting the cat out of the bag".
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoIt means there is more than one way to do something
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What does 'Cat on a wall' mean in slang?
One who frequently changes his decision. E.g. You are being like a 'cat on a wall'. Please decide & stick to it.
What does un or une mean?
Un is a masculine article and une is a feminine article. They both mean one, or a. Example: un chat: a cat
Does a apostrophe mean more then one?
yes. when there is more than one object
What does the slang term cat's meow mean from the 1920s?
To be "the cat's meow" is to be the highlight: the center of attention. If one wanted a prime example of something, this is it. Nowadays, we would call something like that "the bomb" or other idioms. As for why "the cat's meow," consider the most distinctive thing one tends to recall about a cat. Usually, it's that they go, "meow".
What does superfiscal mean?
superficial is a term used in anatomy that means to be toward or on the surface of the body.So one could say, the skin is superficial to the heart (which means the skin is closer to the surface of the body than the heart)
Is there more than one way to skin a cat?
Maybe, but I'm sorry that there's even one way to skin a cat. Who would want to?
There is more then one way to do this to a cat?
this is a terrible saying it is called " there is more than one way to skin a cat" People shouldn't use it .
What does skin the cat mean?
If you are reffering to the phrase - "there's more than one way to skin a cat" - it just means that there is more than one way to do something. i did research on the answer and its correct It could refer to the practice of climbing to the top of flexible trees and bending the top over and riding the tree to the ground. This was a popular passtime in rural areas years ago. Was called skinning cats or skin the cat.
When did the assertion there is more than one way to skin a cat originate?
In prehistoric times, when one neandethal was wrongly accused of skinning a saber-toothed cat incorrectly.
What is origin of more than one way to skin a cat?
The English version of more than one way to skin a cat originated with gymnastics. A gymnastic exercise performed that involves passing the feet and legs between the arms while hanging by the hands from a horizontal bar.
Where can one find more information on cat behavior?
The SFSPCA offers information on cat behavior and what they mean. These behaviors inform whether or not something is bothering the cat. These cat behaviors can notify one that the cat is hungry or sick.
What figure of speech is the phrase its more than one way to skin a cat?
Figurative language i blive nto sure though
What does nekokichi mean?
In one sense (colloquial) it can mean 'cat craze, cat mania, cat love'.
What does 'There is more than one way to skin a cat' mean?
ANSWER There's more than one way to accomplish the task or solve the problem. The remark is often made by someone who has just come up with a clever or crafty, less obvious alternative, especially when the first solution didn't work. ANSWER SKIN THE CAT - According to Charles Earle Funk in "A Hog on Ice" (Harper & Row, New York, 1948) the expression "to skin the cat" refers to a boy's gymnastic trick: "In America, as any country boy knows, this means to hang by the hands from a branch or bar, draw the legs up through the arms and over the branch, and pull oneself up into a sitting position. As we must abide by the record, we cannot say positively that the name for this violent small-boy exercise is more than a century old, but it is highly likely that Ben Franklin or earlier American lads had the same name for it. No one got around to putting it into print until about 1845. One can't be sure why the operation was called 'skinning the cat,' but maybe some mother, seeing it for the first time, saw in it some resemblance to the physical operation of removing the pelt from a cat, first from the forelegs and down over the body." Mr. Funk doesn't say WHY anyone would actually skin a cat, but anyway. http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/30/messages/1858.html Idioms: more than one way to skin a cat More than one method to reach the same end, as in We can get around that by renting instead of buying a computer--there's more than one way to skin a cat. This expression may be an American version of the earlier British more ways of killing a cat, but why the death of a cat should be alluded to at all is not clear. [Second half of 1800s] http://www.answers.com/more%20than%20one%20way%20to%20skin%20a%20cat There are several versions of this saying, which suggests that there are always several ways to do something. Charles Kingsley used one old British form in Westward Ho! in 1855: "there are more ways of killing a cat than choking it with cream". Other versions include "there are more ways of killing a dog than hanging him", "there are more ways of killing a cat than by choking it with butter", and "there are more ways of killing a dog than choking him with pudding". Mark Twain used your version in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court in 1889: "she was wise, subtle, and knew more than one way to skin a cat", that is, more than one way to get what she wanted. An earlier appearance is in 'Way down East; or, Portraitures of Yankee Life by Seba Smith of about 1854: "This is a money digging world of ours; and, as it is said, 'there are more ways than one to skin a cat,' so are there more ways than one of digging for money". From the way he writes, the author clearly knew this to be a well-known existing proverbial saying. In fact, it is first recorded in John Ray's collection of English proverbs as far back as 1678. Some writers have pointed to its use in the southern states of the US in reference to catfish, often abbreviated to cat, a fish that is indeed usually skinned in preparing it for eating. However, it looks very much from the multiple versions of the saying, their wide distribution and their age, that this is just a local application of the proverb. The version more than one way to skin a cat seems to have nothing directly to do with the American English term to skin a cat, which is to perform a type of gymnastic exercise, involving passing the feet and legs between the arms while hanging by the hands from a horizontal bar. However, its name may have been http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-mor1.htm When someone says there is more than one way to skin a cat they mean that there is more than one way to do something
How do you get your old cat to stand up to the new cat that is mean to her?
Make her feel loved and safe, that way she won't be too insecure. Also you may want to separate them. I would not recommend spending a lot more time with one or the other, because if the mean cat sees the other one getting more attention, he/she will become jealous and that will worsen the situation. There is also a chance that the new cat is being mean because she is afraid of the old cat. In that case, separation would definitely be a good idea, and perhaps discreetly reassure the new cat that he/she will not be harmed by anyone in the house and that it's OK to relax.
Would your cat still be pregnant after having a stillborn?
Yes, it is possible. A stillborn does not mean the entire litter will be. It is especially common in a cat's first litter for there to be one or more that didn't make it.
What does it mean if you have a cat dog cat do and it circle which one repeats what does that mean?
Well, the dog probably thinks the cat is the leader because they are pack animals and that's what they do to please the leader, but the cat I do not know...^^
