More Than One Way to Skin a Cat

This one really defies logic.  Why in the world would any of us want to skin a cat in the first place?  Let alone need more than one way to do it.

I got the following compilation of web responses from Yahoo: Answers

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Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

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.

: : "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996) lists the expression "more than one way to skin a cat" but doesn't really address the origin. Mr. Titelman does say it dates back to the 1678: "MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A CAT --There are many ways to do something. The proverb appeared in John Ray's collection of English proverbs in 1678, and is first attested in the United States in 'John Smith's Letters' (1839). 'There are more ways to kill a cat besides choking him to death' is a variant of the saying. The words 'with butter' or 'on cream' may replace the words 'to death' in the latter version."

: "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."

: This cannot be the origin as there is only one way to "skin" this cat - just as described.

Rube is right, this maneuver cannot be performed in more than one way. Charles Funk claims that every country boy in America knows the maneuver. Well, I was a country boy in America, and although the maneuver was certainly well-known, it was not known by that name in any part of the country where I ever lived. The name "skin the cat" makes little sense in connection with the saying. This is a case where to "skin a cat" is very different from "skin the cat." This etymology is just plain wrong. As for there being "more than one way to kill a cat," that's pretty obvious. I'm not convinced that that saying (if there really is one) has anything to do with the "skin a cat" saying, unless it simply resulted from a misunderstanding or faulty memory of the latter.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board…

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/topic/more-than-o…

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

Source(s):

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-mor1

It's Going Like Gangbusters

A co-worker used this one today and I thought - what the h*** is a Gangbuster anyway? So here you go from the archives of another website called www.EarlytoRise.com:

What, exactly, does ‘gangbusters’ mean?” asked Michael Masterson. “And where did the expression ‘going like gangbusters’ come from?”

We were in a meeting, on page three of a new promotion we were reviewing.

“I’m not sure,” admitted the copywriter. “I’d never heard it until recently.”

Gangbusters. Another one of those words in the English language that we use all the time… but have no idea where it originated.

Well, Gang Busters was a radio show in the 1930s that featured “G-men” busting criminal gangs. The violently noisy opening was full of machine gun fire, sirens, etc. Based on that, “like gangbusters” became a common expression at the time for something that was aggressive, forceful, or energetic. Its use continues today.

Speaking of the Devil

In Medieval times European Catholics were so superstitious they believed that if one "spoke of the Devil" it would cause Lucifer to appear. So the complete experession is really "Speak of the Devil (and the Devil appears)."

That was a Doozy

I found several websites all attributing this expresion to the original Dusenburg automobile form the early 1900.

A "Duesy" (aka Doozy) was an ornate, extravagent and very impressive autombile (and still would be considered so today).

Fits To a T

According the the website Phrases.org.uk

Here's what I have found out about 'Fit to a T'

If something "fits to a T" then it's perfect for its purpose. The allusion here is said to be with a T square. This piece of apparatus is so accurate that a precise right angle fits it perfectly.
However neat this suggestion is, there is another possible origin, based on the fact that the saying was in use in the 17th century, before the T square was invented. This one suggests that the T stands for "Title", a minute and precisely positioned pen stroke or printer's mark. A tiny brushstroke was all that distinguished the Hebrew letter "dalet" from "resh". "Title" was the word chosen by Wycliffe to translate references to this tiny difference in his version of the New Testament. Thus the mark was perfectly suited to its task.

We've had this discussion before, and some have expressed scepticism about the history of the T sqaure, as not being that old.

High On The Hog

This makes a lot of sense once you hear the origin explained.

According to Pride Unlimited, an ESL website:

"The best meat is on the upper portion of the pig. Rich people have always been afforded this luxury while the servants, slaves and poor have always had to eat pig's feet, chitterlings, cracklings, etc. - low on the hog."

For The Love of Pete (aka For Pete's Sake)

Olde world expression, basically a substitute for what would be a "swear."

According to Pricde Unlimited, an ESL website:

"This phrase and phrases like "for Pete's sake" are euphemisms for the phrases "for the love of God/Christ" or "for God's/Christ's sake" and hail from a time when those phases were considered blasphemous. Nowadays phrases like "for the love of God" are commonly used, but the euphemisms are still used.

Why Pete? Most likely it is a reference to the catholic Saint Peter."

Face The Music

Another military derived expression.

According to Pride Unlimited, an ESL website:

"Comes from the British military. When someone was court marshaled, there would be a military drum squad playing, hence face the music. The term "drummed out of the military" came from this practice."

Dressed To The Nines

Another tailoring derived expression.

According to Pride Unlimited, an ESL website:

"Common lore has it that a tailor making a high quality suit uses more fabric. The best suits are made from nine yards of fabric. This may seem like a lot but a proper suit does indeed take nine yards of fabric. This is because a good suit has all the fabric cut in the same direction with the warp, or long strands of thread, parallel with the vertical line of the suit. This causes a great amount of waste in suit making, but if you want to go "dressed to the nines", you must pay for such waste."

Dead As A Door Nail

Another origin so complex and obscure it must likely be true.

According to Pride Unlimited, an ESL website:

"Nails were once hand tooled and costly. When an aging cabin or barn was torn down the valuable nails would be salvaged so they could be reused in later construction.

When building a door however, carpenters often drove the nail through then bent it over the other end so it couldn't work its way out during the repeated opening and closing of the door. When it came time to salvage the building, these door nails were considered useless, or "dead" because of the way they were bent."

Cut From The Same Cloth

According to Pride Unlimited, an ESl website:

"If you're making a suit, the jacket and trousers should be cut from the same piece of cloth to ensure a perfect match, since there may be differences in color, weave etc. between batches of fabric. Only if the whole suite is cut from the same piece of cloth can we be sure of the match."

Clean Bill of Health

One of many modern expressions rooted in old Maritime life.

According to Pride Unlimited,an ESL website:

"This widely used term has its origins in the "Bill of Health", a document issued to a ship showing that the port it sailed from suffered from no epidemic or infection at the time of departure."

Can't Hold a Candle to

This one makes perfect sense wehn you think about it.

According to Pride Unlimited, an ESL website:

"Before electric lights, someone performing a task in the dark needed a helper to hold a candle to provide light while the task was performed. Much as a helper might hold a flashlight today.

Holding the candle is of course the less challenging role. Someone who is not even qualified to hold the candle is much less competent than the person performing the actual task."

Busting Your Chops

This origin may or may not be the definitive one; please comment if you've heardof another source for this expression.

According to Pride Unlimited, an ESL website:

"At the turn of the century, wearing very long sideburns—called mutton chops or lamb chops -- was en vogue. Lamb chop side burns also made a comeback in the late 1960s. A bust in the chops was to get hit in the face. Since Mutton Chops are no longer considered high fashion, the term has come to be figurative rather than literal."

Bust Your Balls (aka Bust My Balls)

Sometimes hen one finds the origin of a phrase it is so disturbing one wishes they'd never learned it. Warning: If you are a male you may not want to read any further!

According to Pride Unlimited, an ESL website:

"There is a way to castrate a calf, instead of cutting off the Testicles you break them. To "bust your balls" is to turn them from a bull into a steer. Properly directed harassment can have a similar effect on humans."

Break a Leg

While most commonly used today in theater and entertainment circles this has a more general olde world origin.

According to Pride Unlimited, an ESL site:

"Break a leg" is sourced in superstition. It is a wish of good luck, but the words wish just the opposite.

It was once common for people to believe in Sprites. Sprites are actually spirits or ghosts that were believed to enjoy wreaking havoc and causing trouble.

If the Sprites heard you ask for something, they were reputed to try to make the opposite happen. Telling someone to "break a leg" is an attempt to outsmart the Sprites and in fact make something good happen. Sort of a medieval reverse psychology."

Bouched up (aka Botched Up)

This is one of those obscure origins that is so specific it must be true:

According to Pride Unlimted an ESL website:

"Sir Thomas Bouch designed a bridge that was built at the Tay estuary at Dundee in Scotland. It was supposed to be the greatest structure built in Victorian England. The building of the Tay rail bridge culminated in him being knighted. The Tay bridge was nearly two miles long, consisting of 85 spans and at the time (1879) was the longest bridge in the world.

One stormy night, only 19 months after the bridge was declared safe by the Board of Trade and opened to traffic in the summer of 1878, the wind caused some of its spans to collapse. A train and 6 carriages and 75 souls were lost that night ranking it as the worst accident caused by structural failure in the history of England. Sir Thomas Bouch died only 10 months after the failure. "

Blowing Smoke (Up YOur A**)

One of my favorite idiomatic expressions.

According to Pride Unlimited an ESL Website:

"Magicians often use smoke in their performance to obscure your view and conceal a bit of trickery.

A person who is "blowing smoke" is tricking you and attempting to cover it up."

Armed to the Teeth

According to Pride Unlimited an ESL website:

This is a pirate phrase originating in Port Royal Jamaica in the 1600's. Having only single shot black powder weapons and cutlesses, they would carry many of these weapons at once to keep up the fight.

In addition they carried a knife in their teeth for maximum arms capability.

Keep Your Chin Up

This seems to be a reference to smiling thus equating a sagging chin to a frown.

According to Gary Martin at www.phrases.org.uk:

The first use of it that I can find is from the Pennsylvania newspaper The Evening Democrat, October 1900, under the heading Epigrams Upon the Health-giving Qualities of Mirth:

"Keep your chin up. Don't take your troubles to bed with you - hang them on a chair with your trousers or drop them in a glass of water with your teeth." - [they were easily amused in Pennsylvania in 1900].